Moonrise Kingdom

In an effort to become more acquainted with a director who's work I really enjoy (Isle of Dogs) to downright love (The Grand Budapest Hotel), I finally wanted to follow through on my goal to familiarize myself with more of Wes Anderson's films. 

Knowing that Netflix had The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou I sought out to watch what I had heard is one of Anderson's most interesting entries (though I'd also like to catch up on Rushmore). Life threw a twist though and apparently it's been replaced in recent weeks with Moonrise Kingdom. 

I hadn't heard much about this one in particular other than a few good things here and there, but I figured my end goal was to watch more Anderson, so this accomplished the job. 

I haven't quite lost faith in the director after viewing Kingdom, it's still an enjoyable, quirky comedy/romance. But I am beginning to wonder if I started with his best work (Grand Budapest) and am now seeking for something to match that level of fun and storytelling.

My issues with Moonrise Kingdom surround its willingness to just haphazardly move from plot point to plot point, especially near the end. There's so much confusion and what reads like a lack of organization in the film's last 30 minutes that I'd be hard pressed to tell you what really happened. I have noticed that Anderson has a tendency to go off on tangents, but normally they don't negatively hurt the film. Moonrise Kingdom is the first film from my perspective where it either A) seemed like Anderson was trying to be weird for weird's sake or B) didn't really know how to wrap things up. Neither of those things is all that great. For example, the whole plot point about a storm coming in to the island starts off as foreboding and something you should "keep your eye on" but then once it hits, the net effect is really...not all that much. 

Signature retro hipster vibe on full display here

Endearing, but very awkward

Moonrise Kingdom is a love story between two teenagers separated on different ends of a long island. One of them, an orphan, is in a Boy Scout-esque troop dressed to the nines in khaki. The other lives at home with her parents and family whom she dislikes. Anderson's take on the whole star-crossed lovers thing is cute in his signature odd way even if the film does feel lower stakes than some of his other offerings. As these kids meet up to escape their lives and evade capture...on an island...we're treated to some fun shenanigans that range from hilarious to amusing, more often than not in the camp of the latter. I'll be brutally honest, most of our time with Suzy and Sam I didn't think was all that fantastic. The child actors are phenomenal, don't misunderstand me, but their "love" wasn't one that I cared about nor did I really find them all that intriguing as characters. To a certain extent they reminded me of my brief attempt to watch the Netflix series The End of the F**king World which I thought was so odd, annoying, and bad that I stopped after one episode. Suzy and Sam aren't on that level, but they are just awkward enough, intentionally, that I wasn't their biggest fans. 

I more enjoyed my time away from the teenage romance with the adults of whom Wes Anderson frequently puts in his films. Unfortunately, most of Bill Murray's time isn't all that great of taking advantage of his comedic talents (there are a few good scenes though) but I really enjoyed Bruce Willis' turn as the caring potentially-surrogate-cop dad and Edward Norton as a troop leader left me with some of the film's biggest laughs. He likes to subtly bask in the power he has as an adult over the children, but it also, just as subtly, good at his job. Plus Norton's delivery of a few of his best lines are done with perfect timing and a genuine spirit.

Anderson's typical hipster style is on full display here and I find that I still enjoy it. His color palette is often drab mixed with splashes of intentional color and the general style and costume design is fittingly retro. Moonrise Kingdom reminded me greatly of a coffee shop in Denver that I like to frequent called Weathervane Cafe. I imagine they took a lot of inspiration from this film and the place is so hipster it's almost painful, but I imagine it's like walking onto a Wes Anderson set. Plus they have bomb coffee and breakfast burritos so totally worth checking out if you're in the area. Getting back to the topic at hand...one other thing that often comes with Anderson's films -- and it may be one of my favorites -- is some fantastic cinematography. Kingdom has plenty of it along with some solid editing (another Anderson staple) to make for a film that visually plays smoothly. 

By this point part of me wonders if I just didn't "get" Moonrise Kingdom, but coming on the heels of two great/fantastic Anderson films, it feels genuinely lesser to me. I didn't hate it by any means, but I found myself ranging from disinterested to mildly amused where "disinterested" would hardly be an adjective I'd use to describe my minor time with his other work. I still really want to give some other films of his a chance, particularly Life Aquatic, but I am beginning to wonder if Grand Budapest was Anderson's masterpiece -- and I just so happened to start there?

CONS

• Really feels like a mess at the end. A storm comes, stuff is happening, and then it gets resolved I guess? Perhaps I was just overly confused, but it felt disjointed and almost random
• I wasn't particularly fond or interested in Sam or Suzy. They're endearing in their own way, but the stakes all felt really low (especially because they were on an island)
• Bill Murray didn't do much for me comedically here. Felt wasted

PROS

• Features a really talented cast, even the kids. Norton was my favorite for his humor alone, but I also enjoyed the somewhat unexpected take/arc of Willis' character
• Quirky as ever in true Anderson way. Most of the jokes are delivered in dead-pan style and there are a few places where just the style alone will make you laugh
• Some great costume design and aesthetics that capture "retro hipster" perfectly
• The usual cinematography and editing that you come to expect with Anderson
• Enjoyable for the most part with enough to laugh at, look at, or just amusingly state "well that was weird!"

Retro Rath's Review Score | 7/10