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VERDICT: Moonrise Kingdom has the kind of disarming charm and poignant honesty that leaves one with a great warmth in their heart long after it's over.
So as a good beginning to my movie blog, I've decided to write a review of my favorite movie of 2012.
Narrated by Bob Balaban, Moonrise Kingdom is set in 1965, on a fictitious island known as New Penzance. Two troubled twelve-year-olds, Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop, run away together from their lonely lives where no one seems to want them. Upon their disappearance, the sheltered New Penzance community is turned upside down in every possible way.
OTHER CAST MEMBERS: Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and introducing Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman as Suzy and Sam.
Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. I was vaguely familiar with Wes Anderson's work, having seen The Royal Tenenbaums a year or two back. So when I suggested to my roommate that we watch it (I am cautious about what my roommate and I watch, since I go to a Nazarene college and I never know what will be okay with her), I went into it with absolutely no knowledge of what I was getting into.
That said, I loved Moonrise Kingdom.
The beginning was a tad slow, but I understand that Anderson was setting up the scene and some of the characters. I really like the way Anderson exposes his characters in this movie; he puts them in their normal home setting and shows the progression of any one day in their home. You see that Suzy's family, especially her parents (Murray, McDormand) seems to hold quite a bit of normalcy, a suspicion that unravels as the movie progresses. You see that the Khaki Scouts, with Scout Master Randy Ward (Norton) as their leader, take themselves much too seriously. You see that Sam has escaped from their group, and from his letter you know that he is unpopular and possibly even made fun of among his peers. Your beacon of discovery, weaving in and out, is Suzy with her binoculars, taking in these small bits of her life. And that's all within the first fifteen minutes.
The characters set up, Anderson launches into Suzy and Sam's story. What I admire about this story is that it handles the love of these two (even if it is classifiable as "young love") in an undeniably sweet and honest way. They accept each other's faults. They work together. I think one of the most mature and honest things about Sam and Suzy is the scene where they both scratch the surface of exploring their budding sexuality. Their kiss turns to French kissing ("Can you French kiss?" "I think so. Is there any secret to it?" "The tongues touch each other." "Okay. Let's try it."), which turns to acknowledgement of what is probably the beginning of puberty for them both (Suzy noticing Sam's erection while they dance and Sam touching Suzy's chest). What I found significant about that especially is that even though Suzy had really nothing there for Sam to touch, she trusted him enough to invite him to touch her chest ("I think they're gonna get bigger.") and stared into his eyes as he did so. That trust that so many grown married couples lose is so strong between these two children. And what so emphasizes their love is the fact that these two kids have all the reason in the world not to trust anyone, and they are fearlessly vulnerable around each other. Wes Anderson suggests that children are a lot more knowledgeable than we give them credit for, and this includes the matter of love. But he gives the audience hope that perhaps these two young lovers won't end up as miserable as the adults in their lives.
You really care about these characters because Anderson has set them both up so endearingly. Sam is an orphan, lonely among his peers. Suzy has troubled and unhappy parents, and is lonely among hers. Moonrise Kingdom is poignant in this way; it's about lonely people striving to fill the emotional absence in their lives. It could be argued that Suzy and Sam's love was born from this very need, even if they themselves didn't realize it. Suzy's parents are lonely in each other's company, and Mrs. Bishop seeks attention in her affair with Officer Sharp (Willis), who is lonely in his seeming lack of family or friends. The ensemble cast all work really well together to create this feeling, as well as the kookiness of the characters themselves.
It helps a film, when centered on inexperienced or particularly young talent, to ground it with veteran actors. For another good example of this, watch The Hunger Games.
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I did a sort of film experiment with my own peers; I watched this movie with my sisters (fourteen and sixteen), my college friend, my roommate, and my dad and his girlfriend.
While the film is centered on kids, it's not really a kid's story. Neither of my sisters understood it. They said it was okay but boring. My college friend and my roommate (both around eighteen or nineteen, my age), liked it and thought it was cute, but didn't rave about it like I did. My dad's girlfriend Beth and I started watching the movie, and my dad came in later to finish the movie with us. They had the most positive response; they thought it was quaint and lovely and smart.
Which brings me to another huge thing that makes this movie as charming as it is; the color tone and setting. I can't imagine how dull the story would have been if the colors weren't as vibrant and quietly warm as they were. Beth said that was what made the movie so quaint, was the coloring. It appealed to us visually, and that made us both love the movie even more.
And honestly, the landscape was beautiful. I kind of want to move to Rhode Island now.
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Overall, I highly recommend this movie. It's charming, sweet, poignant, and it left me with a warm feeling in my heart and a smile upon my face after it was over.
GRADE: A
RATING: PG-13 for sexual content and smoking
Moonrise Kingdom (Trailer)
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