This is only the first time I've seen it but it comes close to Rushmore as being one of my favorite Wes Anderson works. It is stunningly and disarmingly beautiful in its exploration of the awkwardness and bloom of youth.
I have the say the simple beauty of the closing moments of the film really caught me off-guard and I wept openly for quite some time as a result.
I fell in love with all the characters in this, and it seems to be one of the more personal or emotional films Anderson has put together.
The look and feel of the movie is incredible. I wonder if they used film and lenses similar to those available in the 60s, because the color palette, the grain structure, and general tone of the colors and compositions felt very close to that of movies I've seen produced in the 60s.
Other themes like that of making a family with what you have instead of specific/blood relations, as well as society's mistreatment and misunderstanding of people who are more intelligent than most really stand out here. They are common themes among Anderson's body of work but aside from Rushmore this film integrates those themes into the fabric of the story much more organically than some of his other features which, make no mistake, are fine examples of filmmaking.
Sam and Suzy are misfits, pariahs within their various social circles. It's not through any fault of their own, however. Sam is an orphan and his foster family finds him hard to manage. He is a good kid, but sometimes acts out in ways that 60s society finds hard to handle. In a lot of ways the character reminds me a bit of myself in my youth. I was a scout but didn't get along well with my troop, I was bullied in grade school, and like Sam often had the feeling that the kids around me would be glad if I just ran away or disappeared. Fortunately I had loving parents who helped me navigate those troubled times. When Sam makes a connection with Bruce Willis' character, a chief of police for the small island community, I couldn't help but root for them. Captain Sharp needs someone to take care of in order to give his life direction and meaning, and Sam needs a guiding hand.
Similarly, Suzy is a troubled youth and while her parents do appear to have nothing but her best interests at heart, they are starting to drift apart and their marital troubles spill over into having issues managing and raising their family.
So in the end, when Mr. and Mrs. Bishop resolve to find a way to stay together despite Mrs. Bishop's infidelities, one gets a sense of the family truly coming back together and healing. The final image, that of a painting Sam has made of the inlet where he and Suzy stayed, standing in Suzy's home where the family is healing is a poignant encapsulation of the things we yearn and long for versus what we really have, and how we must reconcile the two.
Anderson films have always been about the dichotomy between what the characters fantasize about, and what they really have, which is probably why his movies are so touching and humanistic. Most of us have within us this sort of cognitive dissonance. Moonrise Kingdom is one of the most fully formed and crystalized expressions of this duality inherent to just about everyone.
I have the say the simple beauty of the closing moments of the film really caught me off-guard and I wept openly for quite some time as a result.
I fell in love with all the characters in this, and it seems to be one of the more personal or emotional films Anderson has put together.
The look and feel of the movie is incredible. I wonder if they used film and lenses similar to those available in the 60s, because the color palette, the grain structure, and general tone of the colors and compositions felt very close to that of movies I've seen produced in the 60s.
Other themes like that of making a family with what you have instead of specific/blood relations, as well as society's mistreatment and misunderstanding of people who are more intelligent than most really stand out here. They are common themes among Anderson's body of work but aside from Rushmore this film integrates those themes into the fabric of the story much more organically than some of his other features which, make no mistake, are fine examples of filmmaking.
Sam and Suzy are misfits, pariahs within their various social circles. It's not through any fault of their own, however. Sam is an orphan and his foster family finds him hard to manage. He is a good kid, but sometimes acts out in ways that 60s society finds hard to handle. In a lot of ways the character reminds me a bit of myself in my youth. I was a scout but didn't get along well with my troop, I was bullied in grade school, and like Sam often had the feeling that the kids around me would be glad if I just ran away or disappeared. Fortunately I had loving parents who helped me navigate those troubled times. When Sam makes a connection with Bruce Willis' character, a chief of police for the small island community, I couldn't help but root for them. Captain Sharp needs someone to take care of in order to give his life direction and meaning, and Sam needs a guiding hand.
Similarly, Suzy is a troubled youth and while her parents do appear to have nothing but her best interests at heart, they are starting to drift apart and their marital troubles spill over into having issues managing and raising their family.
So in the end, when Mr. and Mrs. Bishop resolve to find a way to stay together despite Mrs. Bishop's infidelities, one gets a sense of the family truly coming back together and healing. The final image, that of a painting Sam has made of the inlet where he and Suzy stayed, standing in Suzy's home where the family is healing is a poignant encapsulation of the things we yearn and long for versus what we really have, and how we must reconcile the two.
Anderson films have always been about the dichotomy between what the characters fantasize about, and what they really have, which is probably why his movies are so touching and humanistic. Most of us have within us this sort of cognitive dissonance. Moonrise Kingdom is one of the most fully formed and crystalized expressions of this duality inherent to just about everyone.
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