Movie Review: Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson, one of the forefront directors in quirky comedies, has helmed another masterpiece which is arguably his best film to date. Moonrise Kingdom is set in 1965, on the island of New Penzance off the coast of New England. There is a storm approaching the island. Sally Bishop is a "troubled child", the oldest of four siblings, and is having quite a difficult time getting along with her parents (played by a hilarious combination of Bill Murray and Frances McDormand). Her mother, Laura, is having an affair with the Island's police chief, Captain Sharp (played by Bruce Willis), which is making her relationship with her husband, Walt, fall apart. Sally sees this, and in turn decides to run away with Sam Shakusky. Sam is an orphan, who lives with foster parents on the island. He is also a Khaki Scout, a member of Troop 55. Sam is discovered missing by Scout Master Ward (played in quite a comeback role by Edward Norton), and a ragtag group of other scouts. So Sam and Sally run away together, and try to follow a path made by the former indigenous people of the island. Their backstory is shown, with Sam and Sally becoming pen pals, and deciding to run away together to escape from their troubles. They are found, however, by the raucous ensemble of Sally's parents, Captain Sharp, and Scout Master Ward. The search for them turns the town apart, unraveling old secrets and exposing new ones. Sam's foster parents decide that they cannot accept him into their home any longer, and so is to be taken to "juvenile refuge" by Social Services (played by Tilda Swinton). Sam and Sally escape once again, this time with the help of the other Khaki Scouts. They get "married", and decide to sail away to another island off the coast. However, the aforementioned storm has arrived, and their plans to escape are stopped. A chase around a church house ends in Captain Sharp deciding to adopt Sam, and he and Sally continue on with their lives, remaining in love.

The film, overall, has a sense of quirkiness about it. The direction by Anderson was spectacular, using several side scrolling techniques to keep the audience intrigued. The writing was great. I don't think there was a single moment where the audience wasn't laughing. The overall style and look of the film was very reminiscent of the era, with wardrobe and music being understated, yet elegant, and the set designs and shooting locations were beautiful. The soundtrack, which included new material by acclaimed composer Alexandre Desplat, also features several themes from Benjamin Brittens "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra." The piece is a parallel to the town, with the piece and the town being unraveled and different parts exposed, then all the parts come back together in the finale. There were many great performances to go around. Bill Murray and Frances MacDormand were great as Sally's parents, Bruce Willis has a great comedic turn as Captain Sharp, and Edward Norton displays his acting skills that haven't been too present in some of his more recent films as Scout Master Ward. I believe that Edward Norton and Frances MacDormand (possibly Bill Murray) all deserve Best Supporting Actor/Actress award nominations. Two of the standouts were Sam and Sally, played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward (a dead lookalike of a younger Emma Watson). For two actors their age, they really pulled off the feeling of "awkward preteen love at first sight". All the characters in the movie just seemed very genuine and relatable. And, at the heart of the story, away from all the shenanigans of the townspeople and the secrets that come to light, is a pure love story, crafted in a way that only Wes Anderson could imagine. In a summer filled to the brim with high budget, special-effects ridden high octane cape-wearing action movies, a quirky little independent comedy/drama/romance like Moonrise Kingdom is a great relief. If it doesn't get a Best Picture nomination, or at least a Best Original Screenplay, I'll be quite disappointed. With an ensemble cast to rival that of The Avengers and The Help, this is the best movie I have seen all year. Go see it.

Rating: A+