Moonrise Kingdom Review

Directed by Wes Anderson and starring Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. Moonrise Kingdom follows the story of a pair of young lovers who flee their home, causing a local search party to fan out and find them.

Back in 2009, we were hailed with possibly the best 'Roald Dahl' book adaptation, with 'Fantastic Mr.Fox' directed by none other than Wes Anderson. However my only frustration with that film was that it didn't really know who it's target audience was. Some bits were aimed at children with silly jokes and child friendly imagery, yet other scenes were quite dark, with a lot of mature jokes inserted . So when Moonrise Kingdom emererged, led by two child actors in their debut film, yet with the looks of a mature drama ,you could imagine my concern. Thanklyfully as I watched the film, my worries were quelled, as this film displays Wes Anderson at his very best, contrasting a touching story of the innocence of young love, with the realistic complication of adolescent affection, beautifully. This is the centerpiece of the film, a simple and touching story of two young lovers, before they have the responsibility of life, as the story progresses so does the determination of both the children to escape their troubled lives to meet each other and the adults in order to repair the broken relationships with their children. This worked brilliantly and subtily produced an underlying message about relationships. However this is not the only message conveyed throughout the film, Sam, the protagonist, is an avid scout and throughout the film we get to see his love for the outdoors and his many skills used to tackle the terrain. Contrary to other films, Moonrise Kingdom doesn't force the message into your face it's an underlying message felt throughout the film, that can be interpreted in different ways, or even not at all.

As-well as the strong story, throughout the film we are introduced to more and more characters each one as immersive and hilarious as the next. Notable performances go to the extremely impressive debut performances by the two leads ( Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who produce realistic and lovable characters, who are easy to relate to. Ed Norton is also brilliant, providing a similar performance to those of the leads, he's a lovable and hilarious character, who supplies the majority of jokes, while simultaneously building this 'bridge' with the audience that allows us to easily relate and care for him.

Another aspect of the film, that may be small but is definitely notable is the fantastic score that Anderson chooses throughout the film. The music is absolutely beautiful and really adds to the feeling of each of the characters, as-well as the peaceful feeling of the secluded island at which they live.

However there were some minor aspects of the film that I felt didn't fit in with the rest of the films main message. Some actions that the kids carry out feel out of place in a film about love and adventure, ending out an opposite message to the audience. Instead these actions are never really fully explained or tied up. I also found that nearing the climax of the film, things started to get a bit ridiculous and over the top, again felling out of place and not fitting in with the rest of the films main message.

These however are just minor problems in a film which absolutely blew me away. The most poignant factor of the film being the fantastic and heart-felt story line which was led by two amazing child actors who understood the material and then portrayed their understanding through a superb debut performance.

90%- A realistic and heart-felt depiction of young love, told through a plethora of creative characters.

Calum Russell