TV Round-Up
Moonrise Kingdom
2012
The year is 1965.
Two pre-teen
misfits, one of each
gender, become close
pen pals. They
eventually decide to
meet and run away
together. Their
journey is not an
easy one since they
live on a New
England island with
no paved roads. The
boy is an
experienced scout,
so he dresses for
hiking and brings
everything necessary
for wilderness
survival. The girl,
on the other hand,
is an impractical
dreamer who shows up
in her Sunday school
shoes and brings
only a few items of
clothing, her six
favorite books, her
kitten, her
ubiquitous
binoculars and a
battery-powered
record player.
The story follows
their budding
relationship and the
attempts of the
adult world to
locate their
"Moonrise Kingdom,"
which is what they
call the campsite
they establish on a
lovely tidal inlet
in late summer. The
adults are
distressed not only
by the implications
of the kids'
precocious
sexuality, but also
by the fact that New
England is about to
be hit by the storm
of the century, and
the kids are
oblivious to their
peril.
Certain directors
have a style so
distinctive that one
can watch only a few
minutes of their
movies before saying
"This must be a
________ movie." We
don't have many of
those people any
more. Most of
today's biggest
directors hide their
own voices and
completely adapt
their approach to
the material in
their current
project. There's no
such thing as a
typical Spielberg
movie, or a typical
Soderbergh,
Eastwood, Fincher,
Verhoeven, Cameron,
Scorsese, etc. On
the other hand, we
can still hear
distinctive voices
when we leave the
realm of the
blockbusters. Woody
Allen's films seem
to be more generic
than in years past,
but the dialogue
still retains
Woody's cadences.
Other classic
auteurs who still
leave their marks on
every scene include
Aronofsky, Mike
Leigh, Gondry, Tim
Burton ...
... and Wes
Anderson.
Anderson's films
are easily
identified by his
gentle, offbeat
humor, his eccentric
families, his magic
realism, his rich
pallette, the
inevitable deadpan
expressions he
requires from his
actors, and his
ensemble casts which
always seem to
include Bill Murray
and Jason
Schwartzman. They're
not just distinctive
films, but good ones
as well. Yes, he's a
weirdly creative
dude, but he's also
a very talented one.
None of his films
are rated below 7.0
at IMDb, and this
particular one is
rated 8.3 (in the
top 250 of all
time), a highly
positive evaluation
supported by 94% of
the critics.
I agree completely
with those lofty
appraisals. There's
really not a weak
scene or character in
this film, and the
film's dramatic
tension is created
without any broadly
conceived antagonists
or cartoon
characterizations of
evil. There are times
when we dislike some
of the adults and some
of the boy's fellow
scouts, but in the end
we get to see them as
people who are capable
of reaching out to
others with
understanding. The
kids are brilliant in
their roles. Every one
of the adults is
fascinating and
absolutely unique. No
character is generic;
no characterization is
perfunctory. Anderson
takes the time to make
every role
distinctive, and his
usual repertory cast
is ably supported by
superstars Bruce
Willis and Edward
Norton as two meek
doofuses who
eventually reveal
unsuspected depths of
courage and
compassion.
Anderson's
attention to detail
is amazing. While
his characters are
not especially
true-to-life, at
least not to OUR
life, they are
completely distinct,
and their lives are
so richly detailed
that they seem
utterly credible
within their own
universe. Wes
Anderson enjoys
creating every last
detail of his
realms, and the
people are only one
aspect of that. The
depth of his
creativity is
illustrated by the
girl's six favorite
books. None of those
books exist in our
world, but Anderson
created them from
scratch in detail,
and they come
complete with plot
summaries, book
jackets with
pictures of fake
authors, and even
long passages to be
read aloud. The
books are just one
example of
Anderson's creative
process. One could
write essays about
the detailed
geography he created
for the fictional
island locale, or
about the various
ersatz merit badges
and insignia worn by
the fictitious
"khaki scouts." He
could have used
books from the real
world, or the real
insignia of the boy
scouts, but he
obviously enjoys
creating and
controlling every
aspect of his
universe, so that it
resembles ours, but
is not quite the
same. That slight
difference gives him
a lot of latitude to
add his quirky humor
to his stories.
It's an odd little
film, but tender,
and brilliantly
done. In a world
filled with sequels
and comic book
adaptations, I would
love to see a pure
cinema offering like
this to get
nominated for the
Best Picture Oscar.
This is the sort of
inventive, original
work which makes use
of the unique
capabilities of the
film medium, and we
should celebrate it
as we once
celebrated the power
of the best literary
inventions.
===================
Oh, in my rhapsody
I almost forgot to
mention that
Anderson even
managed to sneak a Frances
McDormand topless
scene into the
opening credits!
(Although nobody
really seems to have
noticed it.)
