“Moonrise Kingdom” sees Wes Anderson return to live-action filmmaking after a break of five years since the underwhelming “The Darjeeling Limited.” Thankfully, Anderson’s new picture is a return to form and his best film since “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
In his career, which now spans 10 years, Wes Anderson has managed to create a distinct style, which is shared in all of his films, and “Moonrise Kingdom” perfectly demonstrates Anderson’s recognizable visual and thematic blueprint. Like almost all of his films, “Moonrise Kingdom” features a vibrant color palette, a dysfunctional family and a hilarious show-stealing performance from Bill Murray.
The cast, which Anderson has assembled, is probably the most accomplished and diverse he has ever worked with, featuring Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel and Tilda Swinton. The two biggest names on the cast list, Edward Norton and Bruce Willis, deliver brilliant comical performances, and Norton is particularly impressive in his first major comedic role of his career. But the most surprising performances of the film come from the two young stars, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, who were both 13 during filming and who give the film a rich emotional warmth.
Set on the charming fictional island of New Penzance, “Moonrise Kingdom” tells the coming-of-age story of Sam Shakusky (Gilman), a troubled orphan who runs away from his summer scout group with Suzy Bishop (Hayward), a girl who is equally as alienated as Sam. But hot on pursuit of the runaway lovers are the diligent Scout Master Randy Ward (Norton) and Captain Sharp (Willis), who are aided by Suzy’s frantically worried parents, played by the constantly duelling McDormand and Murray.
This film will appeal to those who are already fans of Wes Anderson, and his examination of the family dynamic.
But what makes “Moonrise Kingdom” stand apart from these films is Anderson’s focus on his two young main characters. Anderson captures the innocence of first love, as well as the confusion of adolescence, but manages to provide both sentimentality and hilarity in equal measure. The dialogue is razor sharp, and, as expected, the trademark Anderson wit and awkwardness are fully present.
Most striking about the script are the interactions between Sam and Suzy, which feel incredibly genuine and make their summer romance completely believable. Gilman is a rare breed of actor who is able to handle the quirks of Anderson’s script with the ease of Anderson’s regular collaborators, Jason Schwartzman and Murray, and it would not be surprising to see Gilman return to work with the director on future films.
On a visual level, the film is gorgeous, and in true Wes Anderson fashion, nearly every single shot is framed centrally, a technique which has almost become an inside joke to fans of the director. The fact that the film is so self-aware that it is a Wes Anderson picture means that “Moonrise Kingdom” is a sure-fire hit to fans of the director and ranks with “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” as one of Anderson’s greatest films.
It embraces his own style, yet delivers a highly creative and original depiction of the awkwardness of growing up.
