 |
| There he is! Sam! You rule buddy! |
This is an especially great summer for fans of the smaller released movies. Against his normal doings of releasing his movies in the Fall and Winter, Mr. Anderson gave us a treat, Moonrise Kingdom came out in late May. Anderson has a loyal and large following so he could release a movie on March 32 and people would defy the laws of the Gregorian Calendar and see that movie.
A few weeks prior to this movie I decided to rewatch a few of Wes Anderson movies (secretly a reason to buy them all on Criterion). I got through everything except Bottle Rockets, Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr. Fox. I was able to watch The Darjeeling Limited, Royal Tenenbaums, and Rushmore. Rushmore was the last one I watched and I noticed how much of the ascetic of that film basically defined what Anderson has done since (which is all of his movies except Bottle Rockets). With The Royal Tenenbaums I noticed the growth Anderson had in his dialog, which has only gotten stronger over the years. So after the quick refresher in Wes Anderson movies I was ready to see Moonrise Kingdom.
What I love about Wes Anderson movies are some of the things he is most known for. I love his scenes that pan the camera around an entire set. Moonrise Kingdom had a fantastic one that opened the film. We got to see the Bishop household like it was a dollhouse (reminded me of Life Aquatic and the shot were we get to see the inside of the boat).
Another one of my favorite Wes Anderson quirks are his tracking shots. He did something different in this film than I had not seen him do or could remember off hand. He did his normal tracking shots on yards of track, but there were a few times he did handy-cam shots. I don't remember him every doing a shot handy-cam before and it worked so well when he had the two main actors running through the forest. Seven movies in you'd think Wes Anderson would be falling into a rut of doing what he is known best for, which he did in this movie, but he also showed some growth and branched out. Many people do not care for his movies, but you have to give the guy credit for being able to grow as a director still.
A final quirk I noticed in this movie, as in all Anderson movies, was his attention to detail. I had read or heard somewhere that Anderson is kind of hard to work with. There are days where he would just go to thrift stores and find things for the set of Royal Tenenbaums. Not like important things that people notice right away, but books for the book shelf, and records, things most people don't notice. In Moonrise, Anderson was able to attend to detail in his own unique way even when a lot of the film takes place in the wilderness. From the pins on Sam Sukusky's Khaki Scout vest to the small, but important, amount of items Suzy brought with her on their journey, every item felt important in its own little way and had a story attached to it I was dying to hear.
Someone pointed out to me that it makes sense for Anderson to write for child actors. I could not agree more. One of the many things I noticed in his movies to date is most of the characters are stuck in a kind of arrested development. Not only are the characters childlike in his films, his films have a childhood whimsy to them on the outside but inside the story there are real personal issues the characters have to deal with. Whether they want to or not.
Moonrise took the child-like ascetic found in most of Anderson's movies and for once had children being the main characters in the story. Anderson movies to me have always felt like they take place in a bubble which gives the feeling that the characters in the movie are the only people in the world portrayed. Moonrise was no different. This feeling was enhanced by the fact that this movie took place on an island inhabited by Khaki Scouts, the Bishop family and Bruce Willis. Obviously this group of main characters weren't isolated, there were other smaller characters on the island who added little outlets of whimsy to the movie.
Now some might find faults in this movie. They might say that Sam Shakusky's character was not fleshed out to a satisfying degree. They might also say that at the height of the conflict, their suspension of disbelief got zapped to death. To these people I say, you are right. These were faults I found in the movie too, but they did not detract from what I enjoyed most.
What I enjoyed most about this movie was the whimsy. The love for life this movie had. Sam's desire, against all odds, to be with the one he loves. The adults thought they knew best, the adults thought they knew what was right for Sam and Suzy. Sam and Suzy did not agree, so they did what they wanted. They lived how they wanted. Granted they were 12 so they should have listened to their parents and guardians, but it's a movie. I have liked all of Wes Anderson's movies, but this is easily my favorite. I love movies that have strong child actors getting to be children while also showing some adult qualities.
As a guy who is seriously considering pulling a Peter Pan in the near future the transportation to the whimsical mind of a 12 year old was lovely. Being able to let my mind go from my quasi-adult "problems" for an hour and a half was a much needed break. I walked out of the theater and seriously considered turning around and just sitting in there waiting for the next showing. If you want to see a movie where you can just let your mind travel back to those pre-teen years when there was little care in the world, go see this. But if you already don't like Wes Anderson movies, or pre-teens, maybe that new Madea movie.
A few weeks prior to this movie I decided to rewatch a few of Wes Anderson movies (secretly a reason to buy them all on Criterion). I got through everything except Bottle Rockets, Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr. Fox. I was able to watch The Darjeeling Limited, Royal Tenenbaums, and Rushmore. Rushmore was the last one I watched and I noticed how much of the ascetic of that film basically defined what Anderson has done since (which is all of his movies except Bottle Rockets). With The Royal Tenenbaums I noticed the growth Anderson had in his dialog, which has only gotten stronger over the years. So after the quick refresher in Wes Anderson movies I was ready to see Moonrise Kingdom.
What I love about Wes Anderson movies are some of the things he is most known for. I love his scenes that pan the camera around an entire set. Moonrise Kingdom had a fantastic one that opened the film. We got to see the Bishop household like it was a dollhouse (reminded me of Life Aquatic and the shot were we get to see the inside of the boat).
Another one of my favorite Wes Anderson quirks are his tracking shots. He did something different in this film than I had not seen him do or could remember off hand. He did his normal tracking shots on yards of track, but there were a few times he did handy-cam shots. I don't remember him every doing a shot handy-cam before and it worked so well when he had the two main actors running through the forest. Seven movies in you'd think Wes Anderson would be falling into a rut of doing what he is known best for, which he did in this movie, but he also showed some growth and branched out. Many people do not care for his movies, but you have to give the guy credit for being able to grow as a director still.
A final quirk I noticed in this movie, as in all Anderson movies, was his attention to detail. I had read or heard somewhere that Anderson is kind of hard to work with. There are days where he would just go to thrift stores and find things for the set of Royal Tenenbaums. Not like important things that people notice right away, but books for the book shelf, and records, things most people don't notice. In Moonrise, Anderson was able to attend to detail in his own unique way even when a lot of the film takes place in the wilderness. From the pins on Sam Sukusky's Khaki Scout vest to the small, but important, amount of items Suzy brought with her on their journey, every item felt important in its own little way and had a story attached to it I was dying to hear.
Someone pointed out to me that it makes sense for Anderson to write for child actors. I could not agree more. One of the many things I noticed in his movies to date is most of the characters are stuck in a kind of arrested development. Not only are the characters childlike in his films, his films have a childhood whimsy to them on the outside but inside the story there are real personal issues the characters have to deal with. Whether they want to or not.
Moonrise took the child-like ascetic found in most of Anderson's movies and for once had children being the main characters in the story. Anderson movies to me have always felt like they take place in a bubble which gives the feeling that the characters in the movie are the only people in the world portrayed. Moonrise was no different. This feeling was enhanced by the fact that this movie took place on an island inhabited by Khaki Scouts, the Bishop family and Bruce Willis. Obviously this group of main characters weren't isolated, there were other smaller characters on the island who added little outlets of whimsy to the movie.
Now some might find faults in this movie. They might say that Sam Shakusky's character was not fleshed out to a satisfying degree. They might also say that at the height of the conflict, their suspension of disbelief got zapped to death. To these people I say, you are right. These were faults I found in the movie too, but they did not detract from what I enjoyed most.
What I enjoyed most about this movie was the whimsy. The love for life this movie had. Sam's desire, against all odds, to be with the one he loves. The adults thought they knew best, the adults thought they knew what was right for Sam and Suzy. Sam and Suzy did not agree, so they did what they wanted. They lived how they wanted. Granted they were 12 so they should have listened to their parents and guardians, but it's a movie. I have liked all of Wes Anderson's movies, but this is easily my favorite. I love movies that have strong child actors getting to be children while also showing some adult qualities.
As a guy who is seriously considering pulling a Peter Pan in the near future the transportation to the whimsical mind of a 12 year old was lovely. Being able to let my mind go from my quasi-adult "problems" for an hour and a half was a much needed break. I walked out of the theater and seriously considered turning around and just sitting in there waiting for the next showing. If you want to see a movie where you can just let your mind travel back to those pre-teen years when there was little care in the world, go see this. But if you already don't like Wes Anderson movies, or pre-teens, maybe that new Madea movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment