Moonrise Kingdom

Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Harvey Keitel
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A pair of young lovers (Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward) run away together, throwing their community into turmoil as they frantically search to find them.

Review:

Tim: What struck me while watching Moonrise Kingdom is that Wes Anderson made a perfectly "Wes Anderson" movie. This is exactly, exactly what we've come to expect from him. On one hand, I give him credit for having his own unique style, and sticking with that. On another hand, I wish he would try something new for a change. Still, Anderson is clearly honing his craft, and I'd consider this a strong effort. I have never been a huge Anderson fan, and this movie did not change my mind. However, it's still a solid film.

My biggest complaint with Anderson is that his movies are typically very low risk. It's not that the movies are devoid of risk, but everything feels like the stakes are really low. I never get a sense of suspense or even a hint of a thrill. Everything is always going to work out in the end. In this movie, a character actually gets struck by lightning, only to brush himself off and walk away virtually unharmed. I wish Anderson would raise the stakes in his films a bit more.

Still, it's obvious that the plot is secondary in his films. The main priority has always been interesting characters. We certainly have quite a few here. While there are big name stars, I must focus on two newcomers, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. I give Anderson a great deal of credit for introducing these two young stars to Hollywood. He gets the most out of their performances. Gilman is a perfect Anderson actor, and brings a good deal of intelligence, wittiness, and dry humor to the part. I loved his performance. Hayward is likewise very strong. I would have suspected that she's been acting for a decade (since she was 4) and had numerous credits to her name. She was so calm and poised throughout this film. The delivery of her lines was impeccable. I don't know what Anderson did to get these performances out of them, but Gilman and Hayward absolutely make this movie worth seeing.

Luckily, there's other strong cast members as well. Bruce Willis was a nice addition as a police officer. He doesn't really do anything special (although I loved the beer-sharing scene at his home), but his presence was welcome. Edward Norton was pretty funny and a great deal of fun to watch as the scout leader. Bill Murray felt completely underused in this film. He didn't have much to do. His wife, played by Frances McDormand, also left something to be desired (but I'm usually underwhelmed by McDormand). Tilda Swinton is another actress I just don't get, and I did not enjoy her here as the nameless "Social Services." I like Jason Schwartzman usually, but his role here was a waste. Bob Balaban made me laugh throughout the film. I was glad to see Harvey Keitel, but I wish he had something of importance to do. While the whole cast is very good, I'm in awe of Gilman and Hayward- it's funny that the youngest, most inexperienced actors gave the best performances of the film.

While this movie was funny, the story itself left a little to be desired. The whole plot felt like it was only there to create character interactions. I think Anderson is terrific at having fascinating characters interact in humorous ways, but is less effective at weaving entertaining, interesting stories that hold our attention throughout the film. Still, this was one of his better efforts.

I've said this many times before- I struggle to "get" Wes Anderson. I admire his very unique and consistent style, and I'm always interested to see what zaniness he has up his sleeve. His movies are always ones that I will certainly check out. However, I rarely walk away from his movies satisfied. While Moonrise Kingdom was one of his better efforts, I still didn't love the movie. I want more of an emotional pull, not just a mild bewilderment at the eccentric characters he creates on screen. I know lots of people adore Anderson, but I'm simply not one of them. Still, I admit that this is a solid movie, and one that I did enjoy viewing. Maybe one of these days I'll truly appreciate a Wes Anderson movie without recognizing a bit too many weaknesses.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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