Review: "Moonrise Kingdom"

In Moonrise Kingdom, two 12-year olds, Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward), run away together during the summer of 1965. Sam's scoutmaster (Edward Norton), Suzie's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), and the town's police captain (Bruce Willis) are frantically searching for the two puppy-lovers as a huge storm approaches their small island community.

This is a meticulously crafted picture from Wes Anderson, the director of Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums, and Fantastic Mr. Fox -- all films that share a thematic connection to this new picture. In a way, it seems that Moonrise Kingdom is the culmination of more than a decade of filmmaking by Anderson, both as an exercise in style and as an exploration of the dysfunctional relationships between children and their parents.

The adult cast is uniformly good with Norton being the standout. He understands the cadence of Anderson's style, and it would not surprise me to see them collaborate again in the future. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand are as reliable as ever, and Bruce Willis may surprise you with his empathetic performance. Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, and Harvey Keitel also have small roles and are very enjoyable for their short time on screen.

Visually impressive, Anderson approaches every frame of film like a blank canvas, filling it in like a painter would. His camera movement and compositions are precise, and the costumes, set design, and music are all carefully chosen. One gets a sense that he agonizes over every detail, from the way a character hangs a cigarette out of his mouth to the choice of font and color for every title credit.

If there is a failing to Moonrise Kingdom, and Anderson's films in general, it is that his authorial stamp has been increasingly squeezing the spontaneity out of the performances, to the point where everyone is playing the straight-man in a film where the audience is dying to see someone acknowledge the ridiculousness. Even the kids are emotionless -- more like mini-adults than children. It's kind of cute when it's Macaulay Culkin in Uncle Buck, grilling John Candy with question after question, but when the entire cast behaves that way for the whole movie . . . it can be slightly off-putting.

I still loved the movie, but it won't change your mind about Wes Anderson as a filmmaker. His work has such a specific taste and style that the stories may change, but the feeling you get sitting through each one remains a consistent experience. If you love Anderson's films for that handmade, meticulously crafted quality, I highly recommend Moonrise Kingdom, a film that is perhaps the director's magnum opus, even if it's not his best movie (Rushmore still wears the crown).

"Setting the Frame" Film Grade = B+