DEPTH 5ACTING 5PLOT 5ORIGINALITY 5ENTERTAINMENT 5PRODUCTION 5DEMAND ON VIEWER Mild-Moderate (Must be patient as story unfolds at a slightly slower pace than many films.)OVERALL Highly Recommended!
View Trailer
In Moonrise Kingdom we get to see the wisdom and innocence of youth — from the dollhouse opening scene to the boy scout island adventure, from the first kiss to the serious commitment to elope. Wes Anderson has created a magical world that is also somehow more honest and agreeable than our own. Kudos to the adolescent actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward (and why don't they get billing on the poster??!!) who carry the film with their unashamed naturalism and grace, and who outshine even the likes of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and Tilda Swinton!
This is good storytelling and finely crafted scenemaking at its best. You will feel better after seeing this, I guarantee it. It has a reassuring quality to it, as though commenting about something way beyond its era (1960s), something having to do with our own time, of rediscovering fresh innocence and shedding the clumsy embarrasment of our forbears.
Below are some examples of the artistically placed scenes, and some of the tropes, such as looking through the binoculars, putting on masks and costumes (and removal of the same, along with clothing), the quirky yet oddly endearing adult habits, and the diligence of the ever studious scout.
See this film! In the meantime, there is another fantastic review of this film at Moving World, a fine film blog that Deeper Film aspires to!
