Moonrise Kingdom [2012]
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Starring: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban
For a movie with such a warm palette, this one left me a bit cold. Insanely high expectations can do that to ya. A detached treatment from its director and characters that are almost impossible to relate to will do it too.
On a sensory level, this film is perfect. The camera glides and travels beautifully, capturing gorgeous colors, costumes and locations. The care that went into setting and framing every shot is almost palpable.
Talented, hip directors like Wes Anderson can conjure up a brilliant group of actors out of thin air, and Willis, Norton, Murray, McDormand, Swinton, Schwartzman, Balaban, as well as newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward form one of the finest ensemble casts of the year. My personal favorite was Lucas Hedges as a villainous Boy Scout, a fantastic albeit brief performance in a movie filled with great turns by inexperienced child actors.
On an emotional level, though, it didn’t do anything for me. The characters were way too offbeat and depressive for my taste, so I didn’t really care what happened to them. I was more concerned with the poor dead dog. That said, this is the best looking movie of 2012 and a commendable effort from Anderson, even if it’s a clear case of style over substance.
Shame you couldn’t connect to the characters. It’s an issue I have had with his older movies, but not with this one. Agree it all looked beautiful.
LikeLike
Thanks, Nostra. It happens sometimes, I just didn’t expect it to happen with this one. Glad you liked it, though.
LikeLike
Yeah I’m kind of with Nostra here. Did you relate to the characters in Rushmore (somehow)? And not here? Hmm…
LikeLike
Not really. I liked that one even less. My favorite Anderson movies are The Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Maybe I didn’t identify with the characters there, but I found them much more interesting.
LikeLike
I’ve only seen Moonrise Kingdom and Rushmore, but Rushmore’s considered Anderson’s best, for whatever reason. I didn’t care for it. Those two you mentioned have been on my list for a very long time.
LikeLike
They’re pretty awesome, if you ask me. And very beautiful, visually.
LikeLike
That’s funny Fernando, I feel the same way as Nostra about this one. Moonrise Kingdom was, for me, his most heartfelt and emotional mature movie to date, so it’s a shame it didn’t do anything for you on that level.
LikeLike
Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be this way. I thought I’d fall head over heels in love with it. I liked it but it didn’t move me on an emotional level. I just thought the characters were too offbeat for my taste and it was all rather cold and detached. I thought his warmest so far has been Fantastic Mr. Fox.
LikeLike
My little sister suddenly expressed her desire to see this today. She’s eleven years old. I think she’ll REALLY relate with the characters (mainly because she’s weird), but I’m not sure she’ll actually love it. Still, this one’s at the very top of my Christmas wish list. If I don’t get it for Christmas, I’ll just buy it myself. 🙂
LikeLike
It’s a nice thing to find under the tree on Christmas morning. Even if I didn’t love it, I’d like to won it. The visuals are amazing.
LikeLike
One of my favorite films thus far this year. Nice review.
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
Glad you liked it. Sad you didn’t absolutely love it. What more is there to say?
LikeLike
I felt nothing here too. The film looks great and Norton and Willis were wonderful but everything else failed for me. I couldn’t relate to the characters and found it to be a very empty movie.
LikeLike
Thanks! Glad someone agrees 🙂
LikeLike
One of the very best of the year. I fell in love with this movie.
LikeLike
Surprised at the universal appeal this one got (thought only fans of this type of movie would like it), I love Anderson so I really liked this movie – apparently everyone else did as well. Not perfect, but a great experience. I get where your coming from, great review as always.
LikeLike
Thanks, Alec. I liked it quite a bit but I just found it very difficult to connect with the characters.
LikeLike
This shall be arriving through my letterbox very soon and I’m looking forward to seeing it. If I remember, I’ll pop back with my thoughts 🙂 Nice write up man.
LikeLike
Thanks. Hope you like it more than I did 😉
LikeLike
I liked it more than you did, but you did make some good points. It’s still one of my favourite films from this year 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you. Glad you liked it.
LikeLike
I’d agree that this is one of Anderson’s most offbeat efforts (and that’s saying something) but I still really enjoyed it. From what I’ve seen this year, it would be included in my top ten of 2012.
LikeLike
I can see why people’d love it but it just didn’t connect with me. Not in my top 10 but I did enjoy it quite a bit.
LikeLike
nicely written Fernando. i understand what you wrote. i gave this film a perfect score because i walked in with little expectations. Despite the rave reviews before hand, wasn’t too excited about seeing a Wes Anderson movie- i remember seeing the Royal Tenenbaums long ago and not quite liking its style. but this plot was a lot more serviceable. it was an adventure and i was thoroughly entertained by the cast and the quirkiness.
LikeLike
Thanks, Martin. Glad you enjoyed it. I did too, even if it doesn’t seem that way. I just didn’t fall in love with it as I thought I would.
LikeLike
Pingback: My final predictions! « Committed to Celluloid
Pingback: Final predictions before the big night! | Committed to Celluloid
Pingback: Spotlight on the finest performers of 2012 | Committed to Celluloid
Pingback: The Royal Tenenbaums [2001] | Committed to Celluloid
Pingback: Scattered Frames: The Monster Lunchbox of Budapest | Committed to Celluloid