Moonrise Kingdom Thread

This may well have knocked The Avengers or The Grey off my best of 2012 so far spot, it really is that good.

 

I would agree with the above statement, this is without a doubt the most Wes Anderson of all the films made so far. Nearly every shot is composed in that one take from the front, taking in several characters and rooms style that he seems so fond of that even makes it in to all of his posters. Yet somehow this film never gets annoying, in fact its beautiful....

 

Its a film very much about first love, the experiences, the misguided optimism and the frankly baffling urge to commit when you are so young. This contrasts very well with the adult characters on the island and the trials and tribulations they are going through in their current state. So ultimately its a film about love in all its forms. What makes this Wes Anderson's best film since The Life Aquatic and possibly his best film so far is that it feels so heartfelt and so emotional as opposed to the distance that Anderson usually creates between the audience and his characters thanks to the abundance of quirk (The Royal Tennenbaums comes to mind). In Moonrise Kingdom I found myself close to tears a few times just because the whole thing was so truthful and well made.

 

So in a word, yes SEE IT!

Waiting for it to hit portland, 6/8!

It's the very best movie I've seen all year. Loved it to pieces, broke my heart seeing these two kids, not necessarily "bad" or overly problematic, but unable to find a home, a place to belong to. It's very simple, the idea that they would form their own home, their own retitled piece of land. But that doesn't make it any less lovely.

 

Also good to know that, even in his advanced age, John Diehard is still making improbable, daring rescues. We love ya, Bruce.

 

This point came to my mind as well during those final few shots.  I thought, "How will it EVER get better than that for those kids?"  I'm so cynical (and their adventures so magical) that I thought, "Oh man... now they're kinda in a rut now."

 

LOVED Bruce Willis in this.  He's still 'himself' but still completely fitting into Anderson's world.  And it's funny that Anderson hadn't made a film that focuses specifically on kids until now, because his style is just so suited to it.  He should do it more.  It was like a live-action version of an animated film illustrated by Wes Anderson.  

 

It's funny, since I had definitely had my fill of Anderson's illustratively composed style after the disappointment of The Life Aquatic.  I didn't see The Darjeeling Limited.  But it was with The Fantastic Mr. Fox that the UTTER DELIGHT came back.  What started to feel like a much too mannered style for adult characters just felt so perfect for animation.  And it's perfect for the children in this film as well.  So yes... oddly enough, making a film about children at this point in his career feels like the natural progression for Anderson.  Stylistically, I don't think I noticed him doing anything he hadn't done before, but it just felt fresh (but comfortably familiar) again.

 

Truly weird thing about the casting coup Anderson performed on this film with the kids.  All of the kids in this movie felt like young faces I had seen in older movies over the years.  But it obviously couldn't be the same kids, since they'd be too old for this film.  

 

Social Services.

Line of the year:

 

"I love you but you don't know what you're talking about."

That line killed.  Because that's exactly what most people in the theater were thinking in response to her sentiment about parents.

Co-sign.

 

 

Whimsical, hilarious, and touching, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is just fun, majestic filmmaking at the center of its heartfelt core. It has the airiness of fun children’s films, the joyful chemistry in great romance films, and some great dry comedic bits that comes from the ensemble cast that Anderson has put together. Essentially, Moonrise Kingdom is a film that pretty much matches, and perhaps exceeds your expectations.

 

The film centers around two young, misunderstood outcasts (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) that meet, fall in love, and run away together; leading to their respective parents and caretakers to begin searching for them. The plot is fairly simple, but the themes of young love and misunderstood youth are handled excellently.  The film is an adventure through and through; with Anderson editing and shooting the island setting with a classy eye, trimming the fat without cutting through the meat. Everything has a point, allowing each character, minor or major, to have some sort of arc that benefits the plot as a whole.

 

Gilman and Hayward are great as Sam and Suzy, respectively. They have such a natural aura that matches the mood that Anderson wants to convey in his films. They are shy, isolated, and slowly becoming used to the friendly, and possibly romantic counterparts. When the sparks begin to fly, it’s just so damn heartwarming that you’ll probably crack a smile and cheer on the inside when they become one step closer to being a couple. The rest of the supporting cast is excellent, with veteran actors knocking the dry humor out of the park. Edward Norton replaces his intensity that he’s mostly known for in his previous movies to bring bewilderedness to Scout Master Ward, Sam’s scoutmaster who begins to lead the charge to find Sam and Suzy. Bruce Willis uses his stern personality to great affect as Captain Sharp, Frances McDormand handles the weariness of Suzy’s mom Laura to great effect, and Bill Murray steals just about every scene he’s in as Suzy’s dad Walt.

 

There is just something just totally enriching and great about Moonrise Kingdom. It’s a film that knows exactly what it wants to be, and just completely rides along with gusto. It’s pure, fun, and makes the most of every minute that is put on screen. Anderson’s heart is entirely on his sleeve with this film, and that’s what makes a good film even greater.

I just got back from seeing this, and I loved it. I don't have a lot to add to what's already been said. On my personal Wes Anderson Hierarchy, I'd put it roughly on par with Fantastic Mr. Fox, above The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited, and just below Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. (I haven't seen Bottle Rocket. I know, I suck.) There really seemed to be a, for lack of a better word, genuine quality to this that I by and large missed in Anderson's last two live-action movies. Sam and Suzy are just phenomenal. Among the adults, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Ed Norton are pretty much what you'd expect them to be—that's not meant as a criticism, I say it simply as a way of noting what a pleasant surprise Bruce Willis's performance was. I was initially concerned that his physicality might somehow compromise what the role demanded, but he turned out to be perfect at conveying a touching tenderness and sadness. I loved what a mama bear he turned into when it came to protecting Sam from Social Services—probably shifting a lot of his feelings from his failed relationship with McDormand to his new one with Sam. Just terrific.

 

How's this for a heartwarming/bittersweet childhood double-feature: this, and Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are.

So I saw Prometheus the day after I saw Moonrise, and it struck me that they ask the same question: Which is worse, dead parents or bad parents?

Hands down, the best this year has offered so far. Coming from me, that says a lot considering I think Wes is overrated.

Hands down, the best this year has offered so far. Coming from me, that says a lot considering I think Wes is overrated.

There's a part of me that wanted the whole movie to be the kids' adventure in the wilderness. And yeah, they totally could have been swept out to sea or something.

 

But Suzy's little half-step at the end, where she almost but doesn't and won't ever again climb out the window after Sam, is heartbreak enough. Blue remembered hills and all that.

Best film of the year so far BY FAR. So utterly enjoyable. Film lovers like myself will notice tons of homages to other films which give's me a film geek boner. Loved it.

I agree the ending isn't as upbeat as one would think at first blush.  We're seeing the beginnings of them becoming Suzy's parents.  And Sam is already looking backward, to a place that doesn't actually exist anymore, figuratively or literally.

And for me, the line of the film is Murray's response when McDormand tells him not to be so down:  "Why?"  

 

Yeah, I definitely got the impression that Suzy was going to tire of this relationship a lot sooner than Sam was.  

 

Just a lovely, lovely movie.  I almost wish that Anderson would return to these two kids in a decade or so, a la BEFORE SUNSET, to see just where and how they end up.  

"Does it still hurt?"

"To which wound are you referring?"

"Whichever ones that haven't healed."

"Those were all self-inflicted."

My favourite bit was Sam's deadpan delivery in this exchange:

 

"Was he a good dog?"

 

"Who's to say?"

Easily a "best-of" for 2012 for me, though that's meaningless to toss around when we still have six months of the year left. Regardless, it's an outstanding piece of work, and maybe Wes Anderson's best work by virtue of two things:

 

a) It's the film that screams "Wes Anderson" the loudest out of every offering in his body of work, and

b) It's the film that best accommodates his Andersony aesthetic.

 

It's been said already, but a story about children makes for a perfect vehicle for his stylistic flourishes and proclivities. Fantastic Mr. Fox already proved that, and while I originally lamented that he'd be returning to live action when I first heard about Moonrise last year or so, the work he's done here feels note-perfect nestled within his chosen narrative mode. Aesthetics aside, though, Moonrise Kingdom marks his most technically accomplished film-- the cinematography here is impeccable-- and one of the best-looking pictures of the year without much question. More than anything, Moonrise-- despite its loaded ending-- is defined by its sweetness, which is typically found in heartache.

 

Loved the two leads here, but everyone's at the top of their game. I'm also going to have to thrown down for Willis as the best adult here, though Norton's also on fire.

I love Norton's reading of "Jiminy Crickets, he flew the coop!"

I loved how everyone in the film referred to Tilda Swinton just as Social Services. I know she is credited as such, but it still cracked me up every time they said it. The best one was when she was in the plane during the storm and the pilot says something like "Hold onto your hat, Social Services!"

 

Yeeah I loved the film. I haven't loved a Wes Anderson film since Tenenbaums. I really liked Life Aquatic and Darjeeling Limited (haven't seen Fantastic Mr. Fox and i need to correct that), but they didn't speak to me like his previous films did. Which is why I was so happy walking out of the theater. It was like the sun peeking through the clouds on a rainy day.

 

One thing I'm curious about though. I didn't have a problem about it at all, but the friends I went with were very, very uncomfortable during the sexual exploration scene between the kids. Like visibly squirming in their seats uncomfortable. I thought it was an honest and very tame way that we've all experimented when we've come of age. And it was cute, but what do I know? Anyone else have these feelings?

Loved it.  My wife was less thrilled.

 

The thing is with me that Rushmore spoke to me in ways that most movies haven't.  It's got an eternal spot on my favorites list and I tend to give Anderson a pass because of that.  I wouldn't put this movie to that level (for me) but I'd be happy to put it in with the next tier (Tenenbaums, Mr. Fox, Bottle Rocket).  Honestly I was disappointed in Life Aquatic and just plain didn't care for Darjeeling so I was thrilled to see a live action Wes Anderson movie that I could fall in love with.

 

Also, can we just go ahead and make sure we have enough Bill Murray DNA to clone him in perpetuity?  That guy is such a treasure at this point.  This was a more subtle comedic performance but the "self inflicted" wounds bit was great, then there was his facial expression as he held the tent over his head, his getting ready to cut a tree down (subtle physical comedy, an art unto itself) and throwing his shoe at Ed Norton.

 

Now to see if I can romance my wife with a little "What kind of bird are you?"

 

I had no problem with it.  We don't really see anything, and there's such a clinical matter-of-factness to it, it's not like it's titillating or anything.  They're playing at being adults, not engaging in any real passion (if they can even grasp that concept).

I thought those scenes were so well handled.  But it certainly did cross my mind how others would react to it.  If the movie really expands, I wouldn't be surprised to hear someone bitching about it eventually.

 

That mid-hug erection is SO true to life.

I had a friend who felt that the young girl was being exploited and noted the leering camera angles and long shots of her in underwear. I don't know if I'm dim, but I just accepted it organically as part of the scene, and I don't think the movie really sexualized her as much as it sexualized the experience between the two of them. 

I never got the sense that Anderson was trying to exploit the sexuality of either of the actors; everything that they communicate, physically and verbally, is done so in the most tentative, inexperienced, and dressed-down ways possible. These kids don't really know what they're doing. They're playing at something, but the whole thing is founded on their general naivety and therefore feels completely innocuous.

 

Speaking to how the scene is filmed...I don't get that either. I can't think of a single moment where I at all felt that the camera angles could be called "leery"; they felt like Wes Anderson angles, the exact same sorts of shots and movements that he uses in all of his movies. Nothing really predatory or lascivious here. 

There was one quick shot when she was crawling into the tent that could, I suppose, be called an upskirt shot, but she's wearing what amounts to a bathing suit bottom, so I don't see how it would be an issue.

And it also happens so quickly that it almost doesn't register. On top of that, it's just so out-of-the-blue that it almost feels accidental, which I'm almost sure it was.

Saw this last week, loved it.  It's so obviously a Wes Anderson film from the word go and that's fantastic.  For some reason, the imagery of the tree house had me laugh out loud.  I was the only person in the theater except for an older couple who left during the discovering sexuality portion.

 

They way Norton says, "Or fell off a goddamn cliff," is fucking hilarious.  His character felt like a medium roast Max Fisher, not in a bad way, just like if Max grew up and mellowed out.

 

All the kids, especially the leads, were great. Wes has a way of working with kids that's pretty fantastic.

 

Also, the name for the movie reveal had me leaving the theater with a grin on my face and a spring in my step.

Saw it last night. Utterly brilliant, touching, wonderful, adorable, I could probably just enthuse about it all day. Great performances all round, every single frame was beautiful.

 

Also, Social Services managed to be hilarious and terrifying in equal measure. God, I love Tilda.

I really enjoyed this.  Probably more than any Wes Anderson film I've seen as of yet (though, to be fair, I've only seen about half of his previous work).  I've always appreciated his humor and aesthetic, but his films usually leave me somewhat cold.  This is the first time I've felt a real warmth and emotional resonance from him.  Great stuff. 

Just saw this, and I'm still processing...  I liked it.  Willis and Ed Norton were great.  The film looked incredible....  but I'm not sure I ever really connected with the two leads on a level I should have.  Particularly Sam.  I don't really feel like we ever truly got to know him, certainly not like Max in Rushmore.    I don't know, I'll see it again for sure...  but I was never really emotionally invested in Suzy and Sam's plight.  I'm not sure what I would attribute that to, to be honest.

There was another thread about this movie that I posted in, but I guess it was shot with an arrow.

 

I lurved it. LURVE. 

Usually there's something ineffable about Anderson's movies that make it hard (for me at least) to talk about why I liked them. Moonrise Kingdom (and to a slightly lesser extent, Fantastic Mr. Fox) subverts that rule. Moonrise feels like a storybook come to life, and the blunt poetry of that particular mode works perfectly within Anderson's dry, quirky aesthetic. That arid, matter-of-fact personality lends itself to the sensation of a fairytale being read out loud to us. I love that feeling. 

Okay, I guess I'll be that guy: I saw Moonrise Kingdom and didn't care for it. And I actually enjoy most of Anderson's filmography. But I think that a lot of it has to do with the characters played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. Like Kevin, I never really felt invested in them or their romance. And since that is what this movie spends the majority of its time on, I had to sit through that stuff until another performance or amusing line helped remind me of Anderson's usual level of talent. Seriously, give me a movie that centered on Jason Schwartzman's Cousin Ben and I would have been a happy camper.

 

I guess it is a telling sign that my favorite scene involving Sam was when he got struck by lightning. 

Edited by JPL - 7/7/12 at 2:30pm

Just saw this last night and adored it. I'm not usually an Anderson fan, though I never had much against him either. Most of his flicks never really "spoke to me". As others have noted, they're technically proficient enough but seem a bit cold and detached. Moonrise Kingdom didn't suffer that fate, IMHO. I was right there with those kids from start to finish, rooting for them all the way. 

 

The sexual exploration scene initially made me a bit uncomfortable, I just kept thinking "Jesus.. should I even be WATCHING this??" .. but ultimately it came off as so REAL - I mean, we've all been there at one point or another - that it came across as more sweet and innocent than anything else.  The damn broke at "It's Hard", "Do you mind", "No, I like it!" .. all the tension just drained for me and I had to laugh. Some of my early experiences mirrored that scene so much.

 

And yes, Bill Murray is a national treasure at this point.  Between this and the trailer we saw beforehand where he's playing FDR boggled the mind. He's come a long way from SNL.

 

With Norton, his performance kept reminding me of his equally naive goody-goody from Death to Smoochy. He's just a good natured dope and it's hard not to love him, despite how clueless he is.

 

 

 

Actually, I get the sense that they will grow up to be just like Captain Sharp and Laura Bishop.  The attraction is there, but nothing permanent will ever come of it.  More than anything it felt like both adults were looking upon the childhood versions of themselves in the one-on-one scenes.

 

 

God, this was a fantastic film.  I'm so glad it finally reached my area.

Finally saw it, and loved it.

 

I want to go again.

So I'm not that well versed in the movies of Wes Anderson, my only previous film of his was "Royal" and that was just a couple of years ago. I really liked that movie, but can't remember much of it. Now this on the other hand, was fantastic from beginning to end. My love for Edward Norton grows which each film he's in, and Bruce easily pulls off one of his better performances. The writing is witty, and smart, and engaging. Everything from the way the film is shot to the brilliance of the child actors is just ... unbelievable. Without a doubt my favorite film of the year hands down.

 

One of the things I feel that the film does the best is the casting of the two child leads. They play perfectly off each other, both naive, eager, and just really looking for someone in this world. It felt so real, and didn't feel rushed, didn't feel fake, everything seemed genuine. I have to go back and catch the rest of his films, my friend said he thinks I would love Rushmore and Darjeeling.

Definitely give Fantastic Mr. Fox a look.

It's not my favourite but I'd always point someone to Rushmore as the best way into Wesworld. Moonrise Kingdom's a close second for that job though.

I've been skeptical at best about Wes Anderson ever since The Life Aquatic, a movie I basically loathe, but I have to say I really don't have much to complain about here. He's finally made another movie that's front to back solid. Characters that are halfway relatable and even likable (likeable characters! In a Wes Anderson movie!) humour that doesn't feel too forced, emotions that feel earned, and even a plot with focus, proper structure and pay offs like in a real movie. Maybe he's not quite the one-trick charlatan I thought he was!

All that said, though he's admirably toned down some of his affectations, part of me does wish he'd evolve that dollhouse framing style. It gives everything this tightly wound, repressed tension regardless of whether it's fitting to the moment or not. I just wish he'd loosen up a tiny bit. Surely some small part of him must yearn to break free from all the pedantic symmetry and rigid 90 degree angles?

I had a similar reaction. I didn't hate "The Life Aquatic", but when it was over, the pervading feeling I had was "I'm kind of sick of Anderson's bullshit". By that I meant the way he makes everything so relentlessly quirky and twee that it becomes extremely difficult to regard his characters as believable human beings and therefore care about them. They're buried under so much deadpan smugness that it's almost impossible to identify with them. So I skipped his next two movies after that one.

 

I decided to check this one out since it had good buzz. I immediately recognized that he's still using a lot of 'Andersonisms' like his constant tracking shots and what you call 'dollhouse framing style' (an excellent way to describe it) and that stuff irritated me at times. It made we want to yell, "Give it a rest, Anderson, we get it!" at the screen sometimes. I've also had it with his damn slo-mo. I think this movie has his most random, unnecessary slo-mo ever.

 

That scene with it absolutely did not need slo-mo at all, and all it accomplished was to literally slow down a scene that was actually exciting until being stopped cold in its tracks. If he has to insist on using that gimmick (and he doesn't), he might as well save it for the last shot instead of disrupting the pace of an otherwise good scene. I also didn't care for Jason Schwartzman's prototypical excessively whimsical Wes Anderson character who says everything in rapid-fire dialog, and everything he says is a joke. Feels very fake and trying way too hard to be funny (without succeeding).

 

Those are the things that bugged me. I liked the movie a lot overall, though, mainly because I really enjoyed the two leads, both as characters and in their performances. I agree that they were very likable and I found the look of the movie and its locations very engrossing, even if the way Anderson drew attention to them could be annoying. The beauty of the natural scenery went a long way towards keeping me engaged in the movie, and the storm at the end was captivating. Murray, Willis, and Norton were also more fun to watch than I've found them in a long time. I wish Murray's character had more screen time because he really made every moment he was on screen special.

I think it's inaccurate/dismissive to describe Anderson as a one-trick pony; much more correct is the notion that his tricks work much better in specific settings and when dealing with specific themes/motifs, though there's also the matter of him reigning in his proclivities as a director. The entire reason that The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited both didn't work for me is because that heavy, deliberate sense of stylization ends up overwhelming story and character. Conversely, I think Anderson balances out his aesthetics with his thematic and narrative materials in Moonrise and Fox, and the two films rank among his best very, very easily.

 

At the same time I think his "dollhouse framing" works very well in what essentially amounts to a children's story. And I think anyone, even Anderson detractors, would have a hard time arguing that that opening credits sequence in which Anderson rolls through the entire Bishop household isn't one of the most well-executed sequences of the year.

In a Wes Anderson movie, everyone talks like they exist only in Wes Anderson's head. The man doesn't make documentaries. It's pretty similar to what Tarantino does.

 

I finally caught this, and I can't decide if it was utterly fantastic or fuckin' awesome.

 

They filmed this all around my hometown on Aquidneck Island in RI. We are advanced enough to have paved roads, though, so they mainly had to stick to the wooded areas and beaches. Some interiors stage scenes were shot in the former Linens N' Things building, next door to the Barnes and Noble I go to. Thankfully, a ways into the film my brain was able to turn off it's "spot the location" function, and I was able to pretend Penzance Island is real. Also, we have bridges. Two of them. Which begs the question, how do all the coyotes keep getting over here? Do they swim from Massachusettes?

 

Once the vibe got going, I had no trouble getting along with the kids. They were both excellent. Must've been a pain in the ass to cast. No one is a thespian at that age, but they owned all their scenes. You also get the feeling they will grow up into actual people (sequel???), unlike the horrible lab grown mutants Haley Joel Osment and Cameron Bright.

 

When I heard the plot description of the movie initially I went "Ugh...another coming of age tale? With kid actors? Great.". It's so much more than that, though. I wanted to spend more time with everyone in this movie. 88 minutes before credits was barely enough.

 

I've been pretty down on Norton lately, but he fit right in here. Not a single bad spot in the cast. Cartography guy was the hidden gem that you only find in Wes Anderson movies.

 

An aside on the technical aspects: The grain and colors were beautiful. This is why we still need directors and DPs that want to work with film able to work with it. The CGI effects, though...my god. It looked like someone bought their first copy of Adobe After Effects, threw the manual in the trash, and knocked out all the shots in a single afternoon. What the fuck. The lightning shot. The flames on Keitel's tent. Were they intentionally bad, or does Anderson just not know what a CGI shot looks like?

 

To complete the post, I'll say how I feel about the rest of the Anderson stuff. The only one that I thought was anything less than great was The Darjeeling Limited. It had it's moments, but the bullshit factor was way off balance in that one. I hate Adrien Brody in whiny mopey mode, in this and in Brothers Bloom. The script just wasn't right, either. I felt like I was being manipulated (the cheap death scene), the romance on the train was barely working, it all ended up being a big pile of stuff that didn't leave much of an impression. The Anderson team was coasting on their perceived appeal in that one.

 

Bottle Rocket I caught up with recently, very funny and a great start to the Anderson traditions. I can't believe I actually liked Luke Wilson in something. Rushmore has been on my revisit list for way too long, I haven't seen it since the theater 13 years ago. I liked it a lot though, and remember the whole thing quite vividly. Royal Tenenbaums is an all around Andersonverse masterpiece, I love everything about it, especially Gene Hackman. Life Aquatic! I understand why some folks don't take kindly too it, but I've watched my Criterion DVD of it at least 5 times and I still love it. I love the ship, I love Murray, I love the chaste pregnant romance, love the retarded "action" scene and Goldblum. Mr.Fox I enjoyed the hell out of in the theater, need to revisit too. Who cares how much of his direction was "remote control", the movie is Anderson top to bottom, actually made me like Goerge Clooney for the first time since Three Kings, and gave us another modern stop motion spectacle in a way that even Henry Selick has been struggling to do (Coraline was pretty good).

I had no idea that people disliked Life Aquatic so much.  To me it's neck and neck with Tennenbaums as Anderson's funniest work.

I get why many folks didn't jive with Life Aquatic when it came out and haven't gone back to watch it again. If it had been his first I think it would be everybody's favourite. And I mean everybody's. In the world.

 

To me it's not just his funniest and most re-watchable film so far, it's the one that gets me the most emotionally. Plus that damn boat is the sexiest vessel in cinema since the Millenium Falcon.

 

 

Meanwhile, I found this list of most affecting moments in Wes's films. It's post-Darjeeling, pre-Fox/Moonrise so we might have a few to add to it by now. --- http://www.noisetosignal.org/film/2007/11/the-10-most-affecting-wes-anderson-moments.php