Charm Incarnate

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2012)

I've never appreciated Wes Anderson. I've never gone out of my way to see his little corduroy clad hipster films. That's probably because my first exposure to his work came 10 years ago when I rented The Royal Tenenbaums, a movie about nothing more than the posturing of unrealistic traits and staring at the camera head on. His latest effort, Moonrise Kingdom, is my effort to give him a second chance.
It's mid-1960s New England and Khaki Scout Sam (Jared Gilman) is missing. He flew the coupe and Scout Master Ward is tasked with finding him, which fits nicely with the mythos of summer camping. Police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) is mounts his own search, only to find that local girl Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward) has joined Sam. The two plot to get away from the conflicts in their lives, but have to meet with a dose of reality.
The odd style director Wes Anderson has developed over the years goes into full effect. It doesn't matter if it's a stop motion animated map sequence or Edward Norton's childish way of receiving a thrown shoe, there isn't a shot in Moonrise Kingdom lacking in auteur theory stylization. The actors are almost always framed with stage production awareness.
The robotic charm put on by the cast is a perfect fit for the presentation. It's actually quire endearing. That's not to say anyone is particularly believable, but there is an effort to strike against that notion. A strong performance is believable within the context of a film's reality, which isn't always our own. That's what gives this comedy-drama some charm. It's funny that a 12-year old boy paints landscapes and nudes. It's funny that getting hit by lightning goes all but forgotten. For you and I the lingering effects would encompass our entire day, but for Sam it's no biggie.
Another dose of charm comes in the juxtaposition of the harmony created by the kids and the convoluted and bureaucratic world the adults preside over. I could go as far as to say the conclusion is storybook predictable, or the overt bluntness of the narrative cheapens any sense of crafty subtleness. Moonrise Kingdom may be about kids, but the themes and some suggestive material make it more for the adult who recalls The Goonies.