Moonrise Kingdom - My Review

Moonrise Kingdom  -  2012  Directed By Wes Anderson

I'm starting to believe that to say you are not a fan of Wes Anderson to Wes Anderson fans is to say they get  it and you don't. They are just smarter than you and you are missing the magic and hyper reality that he creates in his films.

I'm not missing either (notice how there are never any other people in his films? Its just the characters as if nothing else exists). I just don't believe it is magic.

Anderson's earlier films, Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, of which I am a fan, were grounded in reality. Moonrise Kingdom is out of this earth.

I've always believed Wes was alot like Quentin Tarantino. They both make movies for themselves and it just so happens many people like watching them. While I am on board the Tarantino train I have jumped off the train carrying Wes. Whatever wavelength he is on I am not privy to.

The story is about 2 kids and their escape from their lives and their parents and the cop and the local scout leader all out looking for them. Along the way they experience the elation and heartbreak of childhood as they unknowingly seek to become adults, who they clearly do not understand and eye suspiciously.

Watching the actors in this film is a study in patience. There is no characterization only mannerisms and eccentricity. Everything is over the top.

I've said many times that when you like a movie you forgive it many things as opposed to a movie you don't where you have very little latitude. Such is the case here. Kids enroll in the local scout club but I never saw anyone else living on the island. Where are the other kids and adults? Vast land is covered in the search rescue and once again the land is empty and the people are non-existent. Why did this bother me? Simple. There was not one character in this film that interested me and I was hoping someone would come along and break the spell.

Rating: 4 out of 10