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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
If you’ve
seen a Wes Anderson movie before, nothing about his latest is going to take you
by surprise. He has become Tim Burton-esque in the predictability of both his
visual style and thematic material. As with most filmmakers, people either love
it or it drives them absolutely bonkers.
I’m not
the world’s biggest Anderson fan, mostly because he tends to focus on style
over substance (The Fantastic Mr. Fox is his only movie that I’ve flat-out
loved). But I generally enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom thanks to solid performances
from the all-star ensemble cast, as well as stellar work by two young
newcomers. Plus, at a brisk 94 minutes, Anderson’s whimsical world remains cute
instead of crossing the line into irritating.
Set on a
fictional island off the New England coast during the summer of 1965, the film
plunks viewers down in the middle of a sweet love story between two precocious
12-year-olds. Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) start out as pen pals,
but pretty soon they fall in love and make a secret pact to run away together.
Armed with Sam’s knowledge from his time in the Khaki Scouts, the two decide to
live in the wilderness until they can find their way to the mainland.
Unbeknownst
to them, a giant storm is headed for the island and a number of adults are
trying to track them down before it hits. They include Scoutmaster Ward (Edward
Norton), who lost Sam on his watch; Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), the local
sheriff; Suzy’s parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand); and a social
services worker (Tilda Swinton) who plans on putting Sam in an orphanage once
he’s found.
As with
all of Anderson’s films, the characters’ lives are filled with a mixture of joy
and melancholy. Even in the movie’s happiest scenes, there’s still an
undercurrent of sadness about the proceedings. It seems contradictory at first
glance, but isn’t that how it goes for most of us?
The adults
are happy when they find the kids, but there’s still the matter of their own
lives that are falling apart. The kids are ecstatic when their plan initially
works, but there’s still the harsh realization that adulthood looms on the
horizon and there’s no stopping it from changing everything.
The
screenplay (written by Anderson and Roman Coppola) does a great job of
expressing these ideas in a minimalist fashion, and the actors are fantastic at
conveying them in a believable way. That’s particularly true for Gilman and
Hayward, who share the bulk of the screen’s running time. They create unique
and memorable characters by using only a little bit of dialogue and some great
deadpan facial expressions.
As for the
adult actors, Norton and Willis make the biggest impressions. I always like it
when Norton plays (mostly) normal guys, and the results are generally positive
whenever Willis puts aside his ego to concentrate on performance.
Like all
of Anderson’s work, Moonrise Kingdom isn’t for everyone. But those who are
willing to take a chance on an original and creative work (especially in this
summer of blockbusters) probably won’t be disappointed. At least you won’t be
bored.
Moonrise Kingdom is rated PG-13
for sexual content and smoking.
Grade: B
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