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Moonrise Kingdom : fresh and original story

Oct 24 2012.

Do you remember what it feels like to be a teenager in love? The naivety of it? The innocence and that magic feeling that you have when you fall in love for the first time? Well, Moonrise Kingdom is a movie that captures those exact elements and translates them (quite successfully I must add) to the audience.

The movie is set in 1965 on an island called New Penzance in New England, and follows the story of a 12 year old boy named Sam Shakusky who runs away from his scouting camp to meet the love of his life, Suzy Bishop; another teenage girl who Sam met the previous year at Church. After being pen pals for over a year they decide to run away together. The movie narrates the various trials and adventures they have to face on their journey, and how their young romance blossoms through the experiences they face together.

What is most compelling is the subject matter of the movie: the naive but innocent romance between two children, as opposed to the stereotypical damaged and disgruntled relationships adults share.

At first glance, Moonrise Kingdom comes off as a cheeky romantic comedy made for kids, but with further analysis it’s clear that it has more depth and darker themes underlying it. The subtlety with which these themes are brought out is masterful. The biggest example for this being the constant comparison made between the beautiful romance the two protagonists share and the more broken and unsatisfied relationships all the adults in the movie share. It begs the question: at what point while growing up, do you transition from seeing relationships in a one dimensional, simple, but beautiful light, to the complex and often drama ridden way we look at relationships when we become adults?

As far as romantic stories go, it’s definitely one of the most original and fresh plots you can come across. This is not surprising considering it was written by Roman Coppolla and Wes Anderson, two of the greatest writers/directors of our time.

The story is complemented by the excellent directing skills of Wes Anderson, who is well known for his artsy and unorthodox style of directing. The slow motion sequences, peculiar colour schemes and the panning out of the camera from close up shots, which are a trademark of Wes Anderson’s movies, can be found abundantly along with excellent photography and cinematography, and a very well suited soundtrack, which does an amazing job at capturing the feelings the director is trying to convey. I should also mention (without spoiling the story for you) that some of the scenes in this movie require a lot of guts to pull off, and Anderson should be praised for being brave enough to go ahead with them. Being a longtime fan of Anderson’s movies, I must say that this is one of his best pieces.

Let us not forget the ensemble cast Moonrise Kingdom boasts. Edward Norton as the Scout Master, Bill Murray as Suzy’s father, Frances McDormand as Suzy’s mother and Bruce Willis as captain Sharp (A police officer who tracks down the runaway lovers) deliver excellent performances. All the young teenage actors (including the two protagonists) convey breathtaking performances that further solidify Moonrise Kingdom as an instant classic.

Moonrise Kingdom is a must watch: fresh and original story, brilliant directing and excellent acting coupled with rather complex themes wrapped up in an entertaining and rather fun to watch package.

I give Moonrise Kingdom a 9 out of 10.

Review by Maleen Jayasuriya