Moonrise Kingdom Review

 As in all of Wes Anderson admirably well wrought movies, his new feature film Moonrise Kingdom zones in on different characters who come from opposing backgrounds, yet have the same intent to leave the unsatisfactory world behind to fashion their own one that upholds their own outlook. The differing fact in this film is that the pair of lovers is at the tender age of 12. Suzy Bishop (Kara Haywood) and Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman), plan on leaving their ordinary lives as a Khaki scout and a daughter of two mournful parents behind. This all makes for a love, hate feeling among the film. Aspects of the film are pure brilliance however are overshadowed by hints of overacting and unwatchable scenes.

Moonrise Kingdom follows two 12-year-old star-crossed lovers who long to be alone together in their seemingly unstable world. Suzy and Sam, make a secret pact to run away together after being pen pals for the past year. We see the whole of the tight knit New England town go on the hunt for the runaways including the lone ranger Captain Sharp, who is played by award winning actor Bruce Willis and Walt Bishop the depressed father of Suzy played by Oscar winning actor Bill Murray, a regular in Wes Anderson movies. We follow two lovers through a whirlwind of emotional separations and reunions, specifically the scene where the two seemingly enact in an awkward sexual act that will have viewers hesitantly watching on praying it will end.

Wes Anderson solely puts the weight of his complex directing on the shoulders of Jared Gilman and Kara Haywood surprisingly taking up the majority of Moonrise Kingdom screen time, overshadowing the big Hollywood names. The two new comers do the roles justice, portraying the young lovers adult views and attitudes admirably well. You get the feeling that Bruce Willis hard man reputation really overshadows the comedy role he is tasked to play by Wes Anderson. A sense of overacting in certain scenes looms over his role. Although Wes Anderson has a knack for casting with perfection, this isn’t one of his greatest decisions. Bill Murray’s performance in Moonrise Kingdom as always was outstanding. As we know Bill can adapt to the craziest of roles and this was no exception, the way he illustrates the depressed, mourning father of Suzy shows us why he is the multi-award winning actor we know.

Moonrise Kingdom is now available across the globe on DVD or online in most stores. All in all, Wes Anderson has disappointed with his take on Moonrise Kingdom, although he does capture some excellent acting and scenes, his selection of actors really hindered him on what could have been the modern day Romeo and Juliet.