Moonrise Kingdom

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Written by: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola









I've been a huge fan of Wes Anderson for years (though, considering I've never covered a film of his here, you probably wouldn't know it).  I find his work to be complex, intelligent, and visually stunning. His films can be a bit abrasive if you don't know what you're getting in to, but require an open mind to understand what he's trying to convey.

"Moonrise Kingdom" tells the story of of Suzy (Hayward) and Sam (Gilman) - two young teenagers who decide to join their miseries together and run away into the wilderness.  Being stuck on an island, the children are easily tracked down by the local police force (Willis) and Suzy's parents (Murray, McDormand), but with a little help from some friends Suzy and Sam decide to try one more daring escape.

There's so much to say about this film, I don't know where to start.

I'm amazed at how Wes Anderson was able to pull fantastic performances out of each of his actors.  Even Bruce Willis, who has been phoning it in lately ("Cop Out," anybody?), is stellar as the sweet-but-not-smart police captain.  Some of the supporting performances, such as Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, and Harvey Keitel, were great and could have stolen the show if the stars hadn't been perfect.  Hayward and Gilman, with no previous experience in film, give the performances of a lifetime as the young couple at the heart of the story.

There is so much else I could talk about, but I'll cut it as short as I can: Wes Anderson knows how to make good movies.  He understands how to create a fictional world which effectively mirrors reality, both in content (Suzy's science fiction books) and emotion (the love story).  He uses all the tools of the filmmaking medium - set design, camera movement, coloring, musical cues - to enhance his film both as story and as art.  I could point to almost any scene in the film as an example of how much depth the movie has.

I could go on and on, but I'd rather just encourage you to go see "Moonrise Kingdom" and enjoy it for yourself.