Moonrise Kingdom

Movie Name: Moonrise Kingdom

Year of Release: 2012

Director: Wes Anderson

Stars: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Harvey Keitel, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, L.J. Foley, Jake Ryan, Charlie  Kilgore, Gabriel Rush

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7

Synopsis:

After the wonderful "Fantastic Mr. Fox", director Wes Anderson is back to his traditional universe, populated by whimsical details and nostalgia for a time that has long gone. The film follows the story of two young kids, Sam and Suzy, who plot and runaway from their surroundings, in hopes of finding a sense of belonging. Sam lives with a foster family and is a cub-scout, whereas Suzy lives with her parents and three brothers in a huge house, where she feels lost and at odds with everyone. They both decide to run away, upon which a whirlwind of people find themselves on their tracks in order to restore some order to their lives.
The films of Wes Anderson are always about the journey that the main characters make. Be it journeys of growth into adulthood ("Rushmore") or journeys centered around family ("The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Darjeeling Limited"). The path is populated with interesting characters that make the journey colorful and interesting, which is where the core of his films lie. An interesting display of quirks and oddities of characters that are different, yet filled with insight and with a core that is, for the most part, decent and humane. Some of the characters are not strongly developed, but fit within the larger picture that is being built. "Moonrise Kingdom" is no different: the story of young love is punctuated with interesting characters (and situations) that surround the young children at the core of the story. The film has a wonderful cast, from the usual Bill Murray, but also the excellent Frances McDormand, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton. Another interesting film to the work of Wes Anderson. It will be interesting to see what comes next from his universe.