A wonderful, romantic, and uniquely odd Wes Anderson film

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2012)

With Wes Anderson, you either buy into his odd, very idiosyncratic and distinctive style, with it's touches of twisted, surreal fairy-tale tone, and performances that are both restrained on yet not at all naturalistic – or you don't. For me, I find his style almost always endearing, and both very funny and very touching (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was the one time it didn't work for me).
As always the performances here are remarkable from Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray (the quintessential Wes Anderson actor), Francis McDormand and Tilda Swinton as the adults, to two luminous and unique performances by the film's pre-adolescent lovers Kara Haywood and Jared Gilman.
While imposing a seemingly astringent style, all right angles (almost every cut within a scene is at 90 degrees or 180 degrees to the shot before it), and carefully composed tableaux, this film captures the wonderful, surreal weirdness of first love (or at least one's childhood fantasy of first love) with a moving and hilarious honesty.
Somehow, while the story of Sam and Suzy's attempt to escape from the insane adult world that surrounds them has little to do with the realities of day to day life as we know it, it has everything to do with the realities of the budding heart.
I can't remember when a film so reminded me of my own first fantasies of love and (tasteful but honest) sexuality. I love when a film makes a tear fall from my eye at the same time I'm laughing, and that's the rare trick Anderson has accomplished here.