Moonrise Kingdom
After waiting nearly 5 years for a new live action Wes Anderson film, I can only say that Moonrise Kingdom was definitely worth the wait.
There were so many things to like about this film, not least of all the fact that the true stars of the film were the two kids, Sam & Suzy. The characters played by the more famous actors such as Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Frances Mcdormand, & Tilda Swinton of course gave excellent performances but didn’t dominate.
The practicality of Sam vs. the impracticality of Suzy was fun. Suzy’s essentials for running away including a record player, batteries, books & a kitten in comparison to all of Sam’s survival gear is indicative of the characters. Sam being an orphan has had to learn to take care of himself and survive. Suzy, on the other hand, does not have a good relationship with her family and escapes into fantasy imaging herself far away from them.
I thought Edward Norton really shined at the scout leader, and I got a good laugh out of what I took to be a play on the old cop film cliché of handing in his badge and gun, but rather in this instance his badge and pen knife.
Jason Schwartzman’s short appearance was pleasing, as one of my favourites from the troupe of Wes Anderson regulars. There was a little something of Max Fisher in the Sam character, notably their choice in interesting headwear.
As is usual for Wes Anderson films, this was very aesthetically pleasing. The early shots in the film done straight horizontal and vertical going round the Khaki scout camp and the Bishop household worked brilliantly in introducing us to the surroundings of our protagonists.
It’s pretty rare that I go to see a film at the cinema and feel like I should be giving a round of applause at the end, but this was one of those occasions.
We can now confirm all the details for our pub quiz at GwdiHw Cafe Bar on Sunday 10 June - EXCITING TIMES!
