Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Moonrise Kingdom

It amazes me that I had not seen a Wes Anderson film before catching Moonrise Kingdom recently.


The movie tells the story of the love and journey between two very young people; Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop, portrayed by newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. Sam is a member of the Khaki Scouts, spending the summer on a New England island; Suzy lives on the other side of the island. After a chance meeting, they keep in touch and agree to run away together the following summer. They escape, but must evade the other Khaki Scouts and troop leader (played my one of my favorites, Edward Norton), law enforcement (Bruce Willis) and Social Services (Tilda Swinton).



The movie was quirky as heck (which I know is Anderson's MO), and I can see why many of my friends have been telling me that I'll like his films...I can honestly say that I loved this movie. The plot and script were great, but I was most struck by the mix of actors. Of course, there's the Anderson staples of Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, as well as the always-incredible Norton and Swinton. Willis was a big surprise for me; while I do like many of his action movies, his roles seem to either be a big hit or a big miss. This was definitely a hit for him. The biggest pleasure, though, was probably the kids; not just Sam and Suzy, but the entire Khaki Scout troop were hilarious! I think my next few months will likely be spent catching up on all of Anderson's past films.

Mini soundtrack:


Françoise Hardy - "Le Temps de l'Amour"


Hank Williams - "Cold Cold Heart"


Benjamin Britten - "Playful Pizzicato"

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