7.5/10

Rating: 7/10 (25 September 2014)

Effortlessly entertaining and aggressively likable, the movie has many elements that deserve high praise. Firstly and most importantly the visual coherence and beauty of this movie was flawless. I was constantly looking at the screen trying to take it all in, there's just nothing, not even the most tiny little thing, wrong with the aesthetic aspect. Production design and cinematography complete each other and add up to a simply delicious framing, that is explicitly reflected by the wonderful looking cakes in the story. I wasn't always thrilled with the tension scenes, but there is one in particular in the mountains that was extraordinarily magical: shot is such a stylish, thrilling and original way I was genuinely on the edge of my seat. I really can't speak enough of the visual aspect of this movie. Just as good is the acting here, especially Ralph Finnes' performance, delicate and artificial, yet the standouts are everywhere and there were some truly hilarious characters, watch out for Wiliem Defoes' performance. All in all this was a technically brilliant and stylish movie, but I just think that it fell short of something more because of a slight emotional detachment from the story. I have to admit that the central drama of the film, although fairly entertaining, isn't just as fascinating as the initial scenes in the Hotel. What is missing here is the genuine emotion and sentiment of a "Moonrise Kingdom", not to say that you aren't involved in the turn-out of events, yet I was always feeling the weight of the movie in my head, something that didn't happen with Anderson's previous film and unfortunately with the exception of some iconic scenes the movie is quite forgettable. This speaks to the missing deep sentimental element of the movie that made Moonrise Kingdom so unforgettable. Despite this lack I still had a great time and was actually surprised by some turns the movie made both in the story both in the style.