Most of us probably know how we feel about Wes Anderson. I don't really like the Marmite slogan "You either love it or you hate it" mainly because I will eat Marmite every now and then (mostly when I am with Sam) and I'm cool with it but I don't eat it everyday, I wouldn't characterize that as love or hate. The things I love I struggle not to at least think about every single day and the things I hate I look at, turn to the nearest person and express my displeasure that it has today met my line of sight. I also wouldn't call it like because to like something you have to frequent it and my consumption of Marmite is on a purely bi-yearly basis.........what was I saying? Right, Wes Anderson. So I won't say he is a love or hate director but he is definitely a director whose films you will watch and know right away that he is or isn't worth the rest of your time. In my opinion he is worth all the time in the world.
Wes Anderson has, at least for me, a very indescribable quality that makes his films a bit hard to review without this turning into around 700 words of just babbling soppy love. So let this picture be the description of that special spark.
His films rarely show conventional people or attitudes, I'd say the people are often exaggerations of very vulnerable human emotions. In Moonrise Kingdom we are shown around the New England Island of New Penzance in the 60s (another odd quality of Wes Anderson movies is that they always appear to be taking place in the 60s but, and please correct me if I am wrong, this is the first to actually be set in the 60s). This island, and the land surrounding it, are a hot spot for scouts and at the start of the film a young outcast scout, Sam, has flown the coup to meet the daughter of a pair of lawyers, who live on the island. From there it's a story of young love and escapism. The story is consistently wonderful but is sorely lacking in the strong emotional punch offered by many other Anderson's, this punch of sadness is instead swapped for and nostalgic glow, that offers a little undercurrent of melancholy throughout. I'm not saying it's an unfair trade but it's something I really missed.
When it comes to the characters no one, and I mean absolutely no one, is a dud. They all play an important part and at sometime or another get a hilarious joke or look of some kind. It's also a film that keeps throwing out new characters that add to the comedic glee like Jason Schwartzman as cousin B who is spectacularly hilarious and every moment he and his beautiful moustache graced the screen, I was holding in a giggle. Bob Balaban as the narrator also has this quality and yet manages to relay important bits of plot without making the film seem insincere. Edward Norton has to be the main surprise for me though. Don't get me wrong, the guy is a great actor and films like Fight Club and The Painted Veil wouldn't be the same without him, but I wasn't sure how he would fit into the Wes Anderson way of acting and yet he nailed it in every regard. He really does give off that aura of a volunteer who is far to emotionally attached to their job. Bruce Willis gives the film it's most poignant scene when he cooks Sam dinner and shares his beer telling him quite honestly that Sam is probably smarter than him. Of course you can't really talk about the characters without talking about the two most important ones. Suzy and Sam are sublime and at times they're extraordinary real. The film can also make you feel almost voyeuristic as we watch their first kiss and exchange of 'I love you'. It's that quality though that elevates their relationship beyond young love and into something more honest and heartfelt. Also the rest of the scouts as a unit are pretty brilliant but not as good as they're nicknames and their odd conversations with Sam where the stupid and yet simplistically divine logic of childhood is displayed. Oh and of course Bill Murray, with an axe.
An other equally important chunk of Wes Anderson movies is the clear stylised look. From the great artwork on the front of Suzy's library books (am I the only one that has an almost perverted love of dust jackets.......). The tidal maps to the way to camera is framed and moved through the world and the striking image at the end of the film. This is an incredibly stylish work but one that knows how to focus itself. I always felt like The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou was a drastic case of style over substance, but this film manages to hold onto all the great stylistic quirks of Wes Anderson but it never lets that take away from the people themselves. Then there is the music composed by the now incredibly prolific Alexandre Desplat that keeps the films jaunty and yet honest tone.
I don't want to sit here and say that this is his best film but in some regards it is. Maybe it's not as moving a story as The Darjeeling Limited and it certainly doesn't have a staged production of Serpico like Rushmore but what it is is a wonderfully charming and insightful film that I loved every second of, and trust me that's not an overstatement, the smile never left my face. Now where's that Marmite, I really fancy some toast.
JO
Note: Sorry about how hiatus but dude, I'm sure you were fine, I know I was. If you weren't fine or you blame us for the collapse of your daily life please direct all complaints or friendly criticism to thebrotherscinemazov@gmail.com
Sam Says: I work in a cinema, coz i'm hella cool, and as a result saw the trailer for Moonrise Kingdom about 25 times. Normally, even for the most amazing trailer this would be far too many times to still love it. Yet every time i laughed out loud and was swept up in it's gloriously kooky sweetness. (that bit when Sam says "No i said what bird are you?" and points at Suzy once made me laugh so hard I scared an old lady.) Now after a build up of that degree i was understandably apprehensive about how much I'd actually dig it, 23 seconds into this beautifully, hilariously tender and sweet love story i was absolutely hooked. I feel confident in saying it's Anderson's best work yet. and easily the most beautifully amazingly touching love story I've seen in years. Plus Bruce Willis was in it and Edward Norton's short shorts and an amazing mustachioed scout master cameo. Long live Wes Anderson. 5/5.
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