window into our childhood, in the shape of this heartwarming coming of age film

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2013)

So precise and uplifting it has to be alien, but yet so raw and heart aching, it can't be anything, but human. Writer/director Wes Anderson's takes us down a picturesque; autumn, country side road into our youths. A cinematic time machine that propels us back in time, to a simpler land, where peace and tranquillity run supreme. 1965 is the year that moonrise kingdom takes places, a warm and enchanting coming of age fairy tale, where love can brings together two lonely 12 year old misfits, one being a smart, awkward and resourceful scout, the other is a deadpan girl with anger issues, as they set out to take on the world. Whilst coming out the other side, smelling of roses and with no sign of heat break in sight. But not all goes to plan, due to them running away; they soon have to escape the ever-advancing arm of the law, in the form of scout matter Ed Norton and local officer Bruce Willis. But during this whirlwind of chaos, a violent storm threatens to change the lives of the entire sleepy inhabitance of New England forever.
I would go as far as to say that Wes Anderson is an artist, as every scene is painted with rich, vibrant and bright textures, which light up the scene. Injecting a hint of magic into the air. Which I thought perfectly represents the innocents and vivacious quality of the two child main actors. Stylistically, many can draw comparison to Royal Tenenbaums, a film directed by none other than Wes Anderson with a similar feel, including misfits and dysfunction characters wading through life with dry humour and a scene of togetherness, which I feel that this form of characterisation, is an acquired speciality of Wes Anderson, Coincidently leading him into two nominations for best screenplay Oscars, for moonrise and the royal Tenenbaums.
As much as I applaud Wes Anderson, beautiful story, I'm just not convinced by the performances of mister Die Hard, Bruce Willis and Ed Norton aka hulks smash, reason for this is that they are just too big and brash, for this sort of film, and can't quiet fit into this small and unique world that Wes crafts so well. It's like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Often being quiet difficult to endure both actors poor attempt to show true companion, leaving me so tempted as to fast forward any time they appear on screen, until I reach the runaway performance of both main characters, Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman. In a world full of big, over the top blockbusters, leave it to a small indie-esk, Wes Anderson picture to allow our imagination to fun free, and provide us with a story with true escapism to blow the rest away. Last year was a good year for films, but moonrise kingdom should be on top of everyone's 2012 list, a must see for all film lovers.