Laugh Out Loud, Yet Still Art

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2012)

I know my review will add nothing that hasn't been said before, but I hope to leave a brief review to convince you and your friends to see this movie, rather film.
Moonrise Kingdom is many things at once. It is a laugh out loud comedy. It is filled with deadpan performances and snappy dialog of the 1930s kind, although a few characters show anger in places. It is a work of art in the sense that every scene is framed perfectly. I liken it to a gallery of portraits and a few landscape paintings that move. It has a good story that moves along at a good pace. It is also heartwarming, but not in an earnest, saccharin, true-life-TV- movie way. Nor is it nostalgic.
In addition Moonrise Kingdom has elements that reached me on a personal level. Anyone who has scrambled in the woods and coast of southern and eastern New England will know the landscape in this film like an old friend. More personal still, as a coincidence my mother's name gets a fleeting mention, and I wear patchwork madras trousers, as does Bill Murray. You will find an element, however fleeting, that resonates.
In short, if you are reading this review to decide to watch Moonrise Kingdom at any time, in any format, you will not be disappointed. Unless you are very fussy.