It is the summer of 1965. The setting is New Penzance, a small island off the coast of New England. Two misfit 12-year-olds, Sam and Suzy, fall madly in love with each other and run off into the wilderness together whilst the local community search for them.
The visuals, like any Wes Anderson film, are captivating. Together with the Director of Photography, Robert Yeoman, the pair create a film with a faded, vintage veneer employing a distinctive colour palette of yellow, orange and khaki brown. Moonrise Kingdom has to be one of Wes Anderson's most visually striking films - and that's saying something. There are the familiar rectilinear shots that have become one of the director's trademarks. With extreme attention to filming locations and set design, Wes Anderson meticulously creates his wholly believable, idiosyncratic vision of the entire island. Described by the narrator (Bob Balaban) as,
"This is the island of New Penzance. Sixteen miles long. Forested with old-growth pine and maple. Criss-crossed by shallow tidal creeks. Chickchaw territory. There are no paved roads, but [here comes Jed with the mail]...but instead, many miles of intersecting footpaths and dirt trails and a ferry that runs twice daily from Stone Cove."
The two relatively unknown lead actors - Jared Gilman (Sam) and Kara Hayward (Suzy) - are solid. Their portrayals are [I believe] deliberately wooden, with just enough warmer, endearing exchanges. Both manage to convincingly handle Wes Anderson's often frenetic dialogue. However, their love story essentially serves as a foil for the maelstrom that ensues after they abscond. The film manages to cram a lot into its 90 minutes run time whilst remaining perfectly paced.
The star of Moonrise Kingdom is undoubtedly Bruce Willis, as local sheriff Captain Duffy Sharp. A subdued and melancholic performance, Bruce Willis' character fulfils the role normally assigned to Bill Murray in Wes Anderson films - the grounded character who brings real poignancy to proceedings.
Many have drawn comparisons with Francois Truffaut's debut film Les Quatre Cents Coups. And the film draws inspiration from the works of Roald Dahl and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Nonetheless, Moonrise Kingdom remains one of Wes Anderson's most personal films, inspired in part by his own childhood and embellished memories of his first love.
Moonrise Kingdom is as unorthodox and distinct as you would expect from a Wes Anderson film. Not quite hitting the heights of The Royal Tenenbaums or The Grand Budapest Hotel but a charming, heart-warming yet bittersweet, take on adolescence in his own unique visual style.
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