Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom is a dramatic comedy by Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenebaums, The Fantastic Mr. Fox) starring two unknowns named Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. However, the supporting cast is brimming over with recognizable talent such as Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand.

The story follows the life and times of two family units. The first is the Bishop family, the odd type of closed off Americans we are used to seeing in Anderson films. The focus of the family for this story is Suzy, the bookworm who lives in her own world to the dismay of her parents.  The other family is the Khaki Scouts, a faux boy scout organization which is the only family of Sam. This group is led by a no nonsense kind of man (Norton), who has confidence around the young men but often seems to lack the courage when in adult company. This theme is present in several of the adult males but lacking in the younger males, especially Sam. I don't know if this is an attempt to show the audacity of youth or to illustrate that confidence is not always won with time but seems to be an illusion played on the young. Suzy and Sam meet the previous summer and during the preceding year they have been pen pals planning an adventure. The film and the lives of the adult characters revolve around the daring escapades of these two young people.

This is definitely a Wes Anderson film. His movies are always enhanced a great deal by the cinematography and the set design. While the scripts are usually well written and interesting, the movies always seem to have a more ethereal quality than can easily be described. Beyond just the visual aspects, the peculiar way the dialogue is delivered also helps create this world that is extremely easy to relate to yet seems to exist in a somewhat different realm. His movies are able to capture the essence of the real world and the emotions that inhabit it but only through this strange distant place that you can't quite put your finger on.

The casting of roles and the acting are both done superbly. The supporting roles are enough to make this film worth watching. However, the main characters are really what give this movie its life. The two do a stupendous job in creating their characters and making the audience root for the confused and immature love (which is often more mature than the adults’).

I would recommend this film to anyone interested in coming of age stories, odd dramatic comedies or previous Wes Anderson films.