Austin native, Wes Anderson, returns to quirkdom with the charming MOONRISE KINGDOM, a film set in the mid-1960s with all the requisite innocence and ignorance that makes nostalgia entertaining.
A 12 year old boy scout leaves his camp on a New England island to run away with a 12 year old girl. Although MOONRISE KINGDOM’s cast is bristling with comedic talent like Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Bruce Willis, the film rests on the shoulders of its young novice cast who apparently have never acted before. Jared Gilman plays Sam, a sensitive boy who’s been moved around from foster home to foster home. Kara Hayward is Suzy, a moody girl who is cut from the same cloth and mascara pen as Gwenyth Paltrow’s Margot Tenenbaum. Sam and Suzy fall in love as kindred spirits – unwanted kids in their own version of domestic hell. These are not a couple of horny teenagers running away.
As Sam and Suzy attempt to flee the island, the bumbling scout troop, led by Edward Norton, along with Suzy’s unhappy parents (Murray, McDormand) and the drunk local police chief (Bruce Willis) throw their resources together to track them down. Fortunately, Sam had learned his scouting lessons well!
What makes MOONRISE KINGDOM so enjoyable is its rich use of music – recreated 1960s music instruction about how classical music is composed. And with such a large cast, we’re subtly reminded that a film is pulled together in the same way, where every instrument adds its own layer. Teetering on the surreal, there’s also some fun animation – this is after all the same guy who brought us FANTASTIC MR. FOX – to make MOONRISE KINGDOM a Valentine to simpler passions of a simpler era.
CLICK HERE for MOONRISE KINGDOM‘s official website