Moonrise Kingdom

Composite Score: 83.87

Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, and Lucas Hedges

Director: Wes Anderson

Writers: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and smoking

Box Office: $68.26 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Moonrise Kingdom is Wes Anderson’s coming-of-age dramedy about two adolescents who run away from their guardians on the fictional island of New Penzance to start a life together. The film stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the young fugitive couple, Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop, with Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Frances McDormand portraying the various concerned adult parties seeking to recover the pair of runaways. The film earned Anderson his second Oscar nomination for Screenwriting and third nomination total and is considered by many to be the director’s best overall film. Its portrayal of young love, aloof parental figures, and the melodrama of adolescence pairs well with Alexandre Desplat’s original score and Anderson’s visually artistic flair to create one of the best films of the century so far.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                There is a level of absurdity to the narrative and dialogue of Moonrise Kingdom that might not make every viewer as happy as it makes me. Seeing kids deliver and react to lines like, “I love you, but you don’t know what you’re talking about,” or, “I know it’s bad. I think I just took them to have a secret to keep,” can feel a bit off-putting to an adult who hasn’t recently reflected on the mental and emotional state of their adolescence. Obviously, the writing is very good, hence the Oscar nomination, but it might just not be everyone’s cup of tea. The stakes of the film feel relatively low when you step back and think about it from a “grown-up” perspective, so audiences who have distanced themselves from that part of their person will inevitably find Moonrise Kingdom less enriching than those more willing to explore and connect with their inner child.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                For me, Moonrise Kingdom is the peak of Wes Anderson’s filmmaking. His direction and artistic choices are perfectly suited for coming-of-age tales, and the romantic duo at the center of this film matches his whimsy beyond what seems possible. Both Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward have no previous feature film credits prior to this film, but the young actors bring just the right blend of maturity and uncertainty to Anderson and Roman Coppola’s dialogue to create a believable young romance that is also worth rooting for. They just might be two of the best “child” performances of all time, which are then supplemented by the ensemble acting behind them. Bruce Willis plays the saddest version of a police officer that he has ever portrayed and does so with the emotional range and self-awareness necessary to make Captain Sharp the sympathetic figure that he is. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand are excellent as Suzy’s lawyer parents – just the right amount of disinterested and self-absorbed to make her escape believable but not so much as to dip into true parental negligence. Personally, I think this might actually be Edward Norton’s best role, simply because he gets to have so much fun as the truly inept but equally passionate Scout Master Ward. He lends the audience some emotional buy-in through his genuine desire to achieve what is best for each of the kids in this film come to pass. Even Lucas Hedges, in his sophomore (and first named) feature role, plays the part of the simple bully in a way that fits in with the levity of the rest of the film, setting up his future acting success.

                Moonrise Kingdom is the perfect coming-of-age film, delivering dramatic tension, romantic highs, and comedic situations through its excellent ensemble, brilliant writing, and on-point directorial choices from Wes Anderson, earning it an indisputable spot among the Greatest Films of All Time. Its young protagonists might be difficult for some audiences to relate to, but those who are willing to return to their inner child for a quick ninety-four minutes will find themselves with a true hit on their hands. This film is currently available to rent on most streaming services, and I guarantee it’ll be worth that $3.99 you spend (or less if you have some Amazon credits).