Good, in an eclectic, marmite kind of way...

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2012)

With visual references to 1970s BBC comedy - "Dad's Army" (q.v.), quirky use of several of Benjamin Britten's works, heavily stylised dialogue and a strange insistence that every character (however minor) must be eccentric in some way - it is easy to understand why a number of people may find this movie too much, over-directed, too comic-book stilted to take seriously.
In fact, as a pure comedy, I'm not sure I rate it. And as a young children's romance it is nowhere near as polished, powerful or satisfying as Submarine (2010) (q.v.), for instance. In fact that film and its debut writer/director Richard Ayoade simply get elevated in my estimation by the comparison.
But for all its flaws (including relying on a large number of children of variable acting skills, the unnecessarily poorly written Social Worker - wasting Tilda Swinton's talents, and a number of rough edges left on the plot/motivation front), this film exudes a charm through attention to detail, wonderful cinematography, uniform brilliant acting by all the adults, and inspired choices for the two child leads. Whilst it may have too many quirky characters which can be distracting, a good handful of them are so interesting I am happy to overlook the others. This is wonderfully complemented by the musical combination of Benjamin Britten and Alexandre Desplat.
Plus it is excellent to once again be reminded that when presented with a good script and director, Bruce Willis remains one of the USA's most compelling screen talents.
It is probably fair to say that if you don't like any of the rest of Wes Anderson's ouvre, you will probably not like this. But for me, this was like the delight on being delivered the most delightfully inventive fresh fruit salad, full of succulent treats from far away, after been huddled away on a dull 1950's housing estate under grey raining clouds for 3 months on a diet of frozen pizza. The rays of sunshine from that dessert will keep me warm and inspired for many days to come. Enjoy.