Moonrise Kingdom

Sam and Suzy present with the reputation of a a masterpiece, but they convince me of what I suspected a long time ago: I am much happier when Wes Anderson talks about family relationships than when he relies entirely on nostalgia in coming-of-age stories. That's why I continue to enjoy The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, or the underestimated The Darjeeling Limited; and yet there are a few things that bother me about Moonrise Kingdom, which moodily joins forces with Rushmore. All the usual shyness and elusiveness suddenly seem too deliberate for me, and the dialogues are always slightly overdone, to make Wes's typical moods easier to recognize. Bruce Willis, the meticulous Edward Norton, and the perpetually serious Kara Hayward work perfectly, but even they fail to convince me to go on this road trip again. (10/16/2012)

Like a heretic, I confess that I have only seen Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, which didn't quite fit my mood at the time and has been waiting for a second chance ever since. After Moonrise Kingdom, I will definitely give it that chance. And I'm definitely going to (finally) watch Anderson's older films too, because this one literally charmed me - with everything. An original, funny, endearingly childish adult spectacle, perfectly cast, even better written and directed, and with a great Desplat score. What more can I ask for? (03/09/2014)

I have to say that this time the whole is less than the sum of its parts. In Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson works everything (everything that the eye can see) to the tiniest detail, which is nice and I appreciate it, but the charm of the story gets drowned under all that heavy and refined splendour. Visually, it’s beautiful – it was a lot of fun to pour over each scene and notice how Anderson moves with the camera (the opening credits!) – but I never got into the story and it didn’t affect me at all on an emotional level. All of Anderson’s films are standoffish, but you can find in them places to feel sad or moved… but here I missed them. The same applies to his characters, they are all (very) weird, but this time I missed the vitality I felt in Mr. Fox, Zissou and others. In Moonrise Kingdom I only found that vitality in Bill Murray’s character (the night scene in the bed), who was given very little space. Immediately after watching it, an unenthusiastic 80%, but it needs to lager a couple of days. (07/19/2012)

I've got used to the fact that Anderson only makes films for a certain audience and that I would have to be high to relate to his fictional worlds. But while The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox didn't interest me at all, Moonrise Kingdom was quite good and I managed to have a fine time with it (and I wasn't high). The simple and effective premise plays a significant role, and in the hands of an interesting director, which Anderson undoubtedly is, takes on much greater dimensions of thought and narrative, and the same can be said about the excellent performances of the actors. Bruce Willis in particular, with a proper role after a long time, is a pleasure to watch in a different position than just as John McClane, Edward Norton is also unique as a scout leader, and we will have to keep a close eye on young Kara Hayward in the future. Anderson has finally pulled it off, and even though he alternates excellent moments with weaker ones far too often for my taste, he has managed to create a very easygoing family film with great child heroes, for which one screening is probably not enough. 3 and 1/2* (11/25/2012)

An oddity for indie lovers, hipsters and various other weirdos who will probably drool over the film of the year. For a normal viewer, however, except for a few moments, it is almost non-stop suffering with oddly chosen music and a convoluted ending. At least in terms of actors there is someone to lean on. (01/17/2022)