Saturday, 3 March 2018

Moonrise Kingdom

(Wes Anderson/2014/USA)

I’ll come right out and say I’m not a big fan of Wes Anderson’s style of films. The quirkiness seems too contrived and there’s an overabundance of elements that seem to cry out for vindication – “hey look, I know movies!” He certainly knows how to create a cinematic ambience and is adept at kneading the heart strings of the viewer but it’s all too sickly sweet to fully grab me, that aside Moonrise Kingdom is hard not to like. It’s a big adventure tall tale rollercoaster with a cornucopia of big name stars lending their weight to proceedings but at the heart of it are two wonderful performances by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. A couple of 12 year old social misfits fall in love and elope to the woods a day before a bad storm is due to hit the area sending friends and family into panic and a search party ensues. Simple enough story but Anderson litters it with eccentricities of characters and situations. Great performances from Frances McDormund, Bill Murray, Ed Norton and Bruce Willis and a pacing that picks you up and carries you crashing to the end all make this Andersons best film for me. I’m a sucker for a good coming of age flick anyway but he nails it.

(3.5/5)

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