Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (Movie Review)
Director: Wes Anderson
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, as a young boy and girl fall in love they are moved to run away together. Various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down — which might not be such a bad thing. Take it from me as a life long Wes Anderson fan, if you love his work you should love this one as well.
I wouldn’t feel right saying that Moonrise Kingdom was a return to form for Wes Anderson because that would imply that he had dropped off at some point. I think the best way to put it would be for me to say that this film right here is the first thing we’ve seen from him in a long time that was on a Rushmore level. And the story told here is every bit as heartwarming as it is funny and quirky. It packs the classic Anderson style, substance, dialogue, and characters. With the one exception being that this time the majority of our characters are children. While I do like this change of focus and thing that all kids involved do their roles perfectly (especially Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward), we can’t deny how awesome Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, and Harvey Keitel. The results of all these elements are anything but typical and more than exceptional.
I feel that this movie packs a bit of an old school and nostalgic vibe to it. Mixed the color schemes and setting, you can’t help but think back to the feeling one might get as a child back in the day. I wasn’t around in the old school days that this movie takes place, but nostalgia is nostalgia and this is one movie that just seems to leak a feel good feeling from it regardless of what wacky stuff is taking place during it. The plot involves a few complicated subject matters. We dip into adultery, forbidden love, and just the stuff you deal with as a kid. I won’t say this movie tops such Anderson films as Rushmore, but it just might match it overall. I couldn’t have been more satisfied with film at the end of the day and I truly feel that overall this was the best film of 2012 and an overall flawless offering from a great director.
(10/10)
