Moonrise Kingdom

WHAT’S DOIN 

Moonrise Kingdom is one of those movie gems that performs well in limited release, and, several months later, you come across at the local theater while looking for something to watch on a Sunday afternoon, or, if one still exists in your neighborhood, on the shelf at the rental store. The first time I see most Wes Anderson films is on a television. This time around I was prepared for and looking forward to seeing an Anderson film in a theater. The only Wes Anderson movie I’d seen on the big screen prior to Moonrise was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, a very underrated and entertaining film, and that was 8 years ago. The yellow palette on that large screen was a shock to the system. So many of Moonrise’s scenes could be French (not sure why I picked this country in my mind, I just did) paintings.

Moonrise did not win the title of my favorite Wes Anderson movie. That remains The Royal Tenenbaums by a wide margin. However, there was something sweet to the point of being touching in Moonrise that I think even the least sophisticated audiences could appreciate.

Anderson deserves praise for acknowledging that sexuality exists between prepubescent children, and successfully portraying a nuanced, yet tasteful and age appropriate, eroticism between two 12 year olds without being the least bit vulgar or exploitive.

GOOD TIMES

Moonrise is an exhibition of great acting by children. Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman are magnificent at capturing the subtlety of innocent love. It’s hard to believe Hayward had almost no acting experience prior to Moonrise. The performances by the other Khaki Scouts were also exceptional. The interactions between Hayward and Gilman and the scouts were the highlights of the film. I usually hate movies with children comprising most of the cast. With the exception of the lull mentioned below, I was thoroughly entertained.

NOT SO GOOD TIMES

My only complaint with Moonrise is that Anderson spent too much of the film focusing on Sam and Suzy’s trek through the woods and not enough time on the secondary characters, the cement holding together this adolescent love story. There’s a thin line between cute and annoying and, even with a total runtime of only 94 minutes, extended scenes between Gilman and Hayward were a bit much and brought the steady pace of the movie to a painful crawl.

RANDOM MUSINGS

I’ve never seen Anderson’s directorial debut, Bottle Rocket. I don’t like Owen Wilson, and what I’ve seen of Luke Wilson’s earlier work has not impressed me. Until the release of The Grand Budapest Hotel, which I just found out stars Johnny Depp, I plan to sit myself down for 91 minutes and finally give Rocket a shot. Moonrise has put a Wes Anderson taste back in my mouth but, unfortunately, I don’t own any of his movies. Until earlier today when I looked it up, I would have sworn Anderson directed I Heart Huckabees, which I do own on DVD. I was shocked to learn Huckabees was, instead, directed by David O. Russell. My point is that I’d like to explore more of Anderson’s work and, maybe, rediscover some of my favorites which, inexcusably, are not yet a part of my DVD collection.

I don’t have a great love story from my childhood. The closest is my friendship with the redheaded girl who lived around the corner from my grandmother’s house. I don’t even remember her name. I barely remember her face. And we never kissed or tried to run away together.