Not for everyone. Stylistic and awkwardly charming filmmaking, but a daring and endearing coming of age story

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2020)

I've never watched a Wes Anderson movie and I can only assume he has this very unique style of filmmaking because this movie is not conventional at all. It tells an endearing story but in a very creative and stylistic way, only this imaginative storytelling will be liked or disliked depending solely on the viewer. If I had to define this movie in three words it'd be: innocent, awkward and odd (and maybe bold). It has a very unique sense of humor that to some would shock or make them feel uneasy at first but which will get better through rewatchings. And trust me, this movie needs a second and even third viewing.
I actually stumbled upon this movie while I was searching for coming of age movies and ranking lists kept bringing me to it. So when I decided to finally watch it I did not expect how uncomfortable but yet pleased it made me feel at the same time. Because that's what the average viewer, uninterested or unaware of the filmmaking behind a film, will feel towards it. It's so pure and inspired that it's shocking to feel identified with so many of the things the kids are going through. This is one of the reasons I love coming of age movies, because the maturity the kids go through are so well captured that you feel what they are going through too. It indeed tells a story of coming of age through the two lead characters in the most daring way (to an extent of having parents complain at how "kiddie pornographic" it can be at certain moments) but it does so wrapped in shots, narrative and aesthetic choices of the most uncommon.
And because of this very unique style of storytelling and filmmaking, I was tempted to stop watching after the first 15 minutes. But I kept watching because the story really begins at that mark. I have no problem with artistic editing choices if done well like in this movie. At all moments I was aware of the timeline of the events and these choices actually felt refreshing and unique. But I hadn't had read the synopsis beforehand and that was a BIG mistake. If you go watch this movie with no idea of what the driving plot is just the notion that is about coming of age and about a boy and a girl that fall in love you are gonna have a hard time keeping up with what is going on.
Nevertheless, I had zero to no interest in the side characters. What was going on with the two main kids was so intense that the other subplots that were going on were of no interest to me. Although this might have been enhanced by the lifeless dull tone of the line deliveries some of the adult characters had, especially Bruce Willis and Bill Murray. Up to a point of feeling miscasted given the absurdity of the humor and storytelling technique in the movie. I understand this was a stylistic choice, to channel humor through "kids that talk like adults" and somehow hyperbolic line delivery gimmick but it works, imo, only for the kids. The adults are found unenergetic and unengaging, as if they didn't convey the stress or worryness some scenes needed them to convey.
However, some comedic choices in some scenes are very "out of tone" with the sort of reality the story is taking place in. The choice of treating dramatic and natural disasters feel comically irrelevant makes you wonder why they were used in the first place. I get it, this movie is not trying to tell this story in a conventional way but some storytelling decisions are made simply for comedic purposes. Also due to the style of this movie, as it is trying to tell a coming of age movie drawing from many fictional and fantastic symbolism from books and so on (like A Bridge to Therabitia but in a much much smaller scale) some moments pull you out of the realism the world the story is taking place in is meant to supposedly have. And that's another of the issues of this movie.
I've been told on again that this is a comedy movie also, that the voices of the characters are meant to be witty and quirky and provide humour to many reactions. I personally have come to laugh or better chuckle at some of these reactions but most of the times it didn't quite land for me and I felt uneasy and awkward. But like I said, I wasn't used to Wes Anderson's style and therefore his humor either and as you rewatch the movie it grows on you.
Hopefully with this review I didn't spoil too much and shed some light at the very creative and stylistic decisions made in the filmmaking and storytelling of this particular movie. I praise its originality and daring unconventionalism, I doubt the filmmaking decisions and some storytelling choices (attributing them to my lack of awareness of Wes Anderson's filmmaking style); and I applaud the coming of age tale. I believe in some way this story would have just been another of the bunch of its genre had it not been for its very unique style. It has something hypnotically endearing that hits close to home, very hard. Especially in the coming of age aspects of the story, there's an endearing attraction to the dialog of both lead characters as they get to discover themselves in their lonely adventure. The story is so good I'm sure I would have liked it if it were more conventional all the same.