Review:
Moonrise Kingdom is a
charming dramedy that is a joy to watch. The film is about young love, in the
form of two kids (Suzy and Sam) who run away together to camp out on a small
island off the New England Coast. Noticing their disappearance, the town forms
a posse to look for them. Writer-director Wes
Anderson (here co-writing with Roman
Coppola) takes on the narrative with his usual creative flare and quirky
sensibilities. His blocking, framing and overall mise en scene are all
fantastic as usual, and along with his camera moments (but more so his cutting
and what the camera moves achieve) the overall visual shooting style is clearly
aligned with his past work but also feels very much like an Yasujiro Ozu film (I thought of An Autumn Afternoon a lot while
watching this – how the actors are all shot straight on with 90 or 180 degree
cuts/camera moves). The narrative feels like it takes place in an alternate storybook
world (not so much a fantasy world – though there is maybe a slight aspect of
that too, even though the narrative to an extent and especially the characters
are rooted very much in reality) where everything has aesthetic value and the
guise of innocence. Many of Anderson’s characters in his past work find
themselves looking back with disappointment on all the potential they had in
youth but have seemingly squandered, but here Anderson’s leads are young kids
just broaching their development into adults (adult feelings and experiences,
i.e. maturity) – specifically for Sam and Suzy, finding first love. Sam and
Suzy at first glance seem very naïve, as they approach their relationship with
complete frankness, honesty and lack of scope (wanting to get married at the
age of 12), and yet their love feels absolutely genuine because they get each
other (both being outsiders) and in their own innocent way completely buy into
their feelings for each other (having not been disillusioned by bad
relationships and life experiences involving love yet). Their relationship and
its authenticity are what make the film so charming (coupled with Anderson’s
style), as the audience can relate to these characters in an almost (if not
completely) nostalgic way (while still seeing emotions that are still relevant
today in whatever facet of life a viewer may be in). The adult characters
(especially Captain Sharp, Scout Master Ward and Mr. and Mrs. Bishop) have
seemingly a juxtaposed inherent sadness to them, having been worn down by age
and experience. Suzy and Sam’s relationship is simple – they love each other
and want to be together, but the adults have much more complex relationships
and disappointments that weigh on them. This juxtaposition again plays into a
nostalgic emotional response to the film (the film also reminded me of Peter Pan, especially when Suzy
is reading to all the Scouts – Wendy and the Lost Boys, in its seeming fight to
against the inevitable and impending maturity of these young characters). The
narrative and characters are presented wonderfully by Anderson to harken back
to being a kid, just on the precipice of growing up – something that resonates
with all viewers. Anderson is also mindful of the narrative structure and
pacing of his film. This is not quite in the form of a simple and typical three
act structure, as the film begins with the characters already setting out to
begin their adventure, the preceding events are detailed later in the film in
flashbacks (but it still more or less fits into the three act hero’s journey).
Anderson keeps the pacing tight and the story moving (but does slow it down in
moments to allow Sam and Suzy’s relationship and characters to be fully fleshed
out and have time to breathe) to keep the audience engaged (subconsciously)
amidst this somewhat more complex style structure. Moonrise Kingdom is a film
about growing up, as children are flooded with more adult emotions and
feelings. Through his typical remarkable style and ability to create strange
and terrific characters, Anderson is able to tell this tale about growing up
and young love in such a way as to have it fully resonate with its viewers,
filling them with joy, and comment in sort of a self-reflexive way on the
emotional state of adulthood and loss of innocence.
Technical,
aesthetic & acting achievements: Wes Anderson has cultivated such a
unique style across his seven feature films that his work is immediately
recognizable. With Moonrise Kingdom, fans of his films will get exactly what
they expect, while his detractors will probably feel like he is still not
growing or changing as a filmmaker, as this film very much feels and looks like
his others in many ways. However, I would say that Moonrise Kingdom is more hopeful
than his recent live-action films (The
Life Aquatic and The
Darjeeling Limited) in that it seems as if the characters are all better
off at the end than at the beginning, and happier (similar to Rushmore).
For the most part, though, this fits neatly in with the rest of his work.
Working for the second time with Anderson, composer Alexandre
Desplat provides an enchanting and jovial score that perfectly fits the
tone and magic of the film. (As usual from Desplat) it is wonderful work (here is a sample). Peter Jarvis and Mark Mothersbaugh also contribute
a fine piece to the score as well. Anderson's found music soundtrack is great as well (featuring a lot of Hank Williams). Robert
D. Yeoman (who has shot all of Anderson’s live-action films) again
collaborates beautifully with Anderson. As with all of their films, the camera
plays as much a role in the film as the characters. Yeoman’s lighting along
with Adam Stockhausen’s brilliant
production design gives the world of the film an almost fantastical feel – it
is a beautiful piece of cinema with a great color pallet of greens and browns
and just the right mix of reds and pinks. The cast of characters is made up of
two young leads, and an ensemble of young and adult characters. Jason Schwartzman (who brings a
burst of energy to the film), Bill
Murray, Bruce Willis, and
Edward Norton are all great
in the film (especially Schwartzman and Norton), among these small roles. The
two young leads, each making their film debuts, are fantastic. Kara Hayward’s Suzy to some
extent takes on the form of Sam’s dream friend (girl), in that she accepts him
when seemingly no one else does and the same goes for Sam for Suzy. Hayward
plays her to be willful with air of mystery and deep contemplation. Jared Gilman’s Sam is odd, but
very likable and friendly, and just does not understand why others seem to
dislike him.
Summary
& score: Moonrise Kingdom is sort of like a children’s story book
written for adults. It has all the charm, joy and nostalgia of youth but also
with the sadness and complexity of maturity. 9/10
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