Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Genre: Romantic Comedy / Drama

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton

Running time: 94 minutes

My favorite Wes Anderson film, Moonrise Kingdom is a true off-beat masterpiece who could have easily failed but who stands proudly and strong on the shoulders of two young newcomers in cinema.

Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of a troubled young 12-year old orphan who runs away from his summer Khaki Scout camp to be with a girl his age he met a year before and had become pen pal with ever since. The two kids, who both feel estranged within their respective families and who just cannot seem to fit in anywhere else, will do all that they can to stay together and never be separated again.

The roles of Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop, the two main characters, are played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, two newcomers in the film industry. With kids as actors, it can go either way; it can be really bad and come off really amateurish or it can be surprisingly good. With Moonrise Kingdom, we get the latter. The two young ones offer some solid, believable performances. They work it as old pros as they take us on an emotional, yet unconventional, ride through the lives of their characters and the world around them. Kudos to director Wes Anderson for finding them and for getting the best out of them.

Around the two main actors is an ensemble cast filled with talented experienced actors, and, in some cases, a few regulars of the Wes Anderson universe. A special mention to Bruce Willis, who shows some great vulnerability in his character, something he hasn’t really shown too often in the past.

True to his style, the director doesn’t tell his story in regular fashion here. Some issues, who could have come off as overly dramatic, are related to us in such a tone that it makes us smile instead of cry. That was a nice touch. The use of colors in the scenery and the decors and the use of music are also prevalent, true to Wes Anderson style.

Overall, Moonrise Kingdom is a great film that may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it came off to me as a great off-beat tale about fitting in and finding your own little niche in this big world of ours.

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