(Never underestimate the power of hormones)
CAST: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzmann, Harvey Keitel, voice of Bob Balaban.
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some prime reasons to keep your kids grounded until they are 45 - straight ahead.
IT'S LIKE THIS: One of the taglines for TITANIC's movie poster is "Nothing On Earth Could Come Between Them." Setting aside the fact that, yes, something did, in fact, come between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leo D'Cap), something known as an iceberg which sunk the fucking ship, the tagline could've easily been used for the poster of our next review. Actually, it probably would've been modified to "Nothing In New England Could Come Between Them." You see, our next review is the love story MOONRISE KINGDOM, and considering it's directed by Wed Anderson, Mondo Purveyor of Quirk and Whimsy, you can bet your ass this movie isn't going to be mistaken for PRETTY WOMAN or WHEN HARRY MET SALLY anytime soon.
Actually, a good alternate title for MOONRISE KINGDOM would be WHEN SAM MET SUZY. Sam (Jared Gilman) is an oddball boy scout/wunderkind who has been shipped from foster home to foster home since he can remember. Suzy (Kara Hayward) is a sourpuss little biyatch who yearns to escape from her humdrum life with three pissant-little-shit brothers and two estranged Space Cadet parents, Walt (Bill Murray) and Laura (Frances McDormand). You don't have to be an omniscient being to figure out that Sam and Suzy are basically soulmates, and have been moving towards each other all their lives. Which, really, has only been about 12 years or so. Nevertheless, it was just a matter of time before they crashed into each other and fell ass-over-elbows in love with one another. Which brings to mind another one of TITANIC's taglines: "Collide With Destiny." That's just fucked up, isn't it?
Anyhow, the quiet New England island that Sam and Suzy live on is upended when our two underage lovebirds basically elope and strike out into the wilderness to... go camping, I guess. In short order, the following things occur: (1) Suzy's parents flip the fuck out; (2) Sam's scoutmaster, Ward (Edward Norton), flips the fuck out; and (3) Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), the island's police chief, flips the fuck out - presumably because he know has some real work to do in chasing down our pint-sized Romeo and Juliet. Then, as if things weren't knotty enough, a visitor from the mainland arrives to take Sam back to foster care for being such a lothario at the tender age of 12. She is named Social Services (Tilda Swinton) because she is from, uh, social services. By that logic, if I was in this movie, I would be named Sex Addict Adrenaline Junkie Mojito Alcoholic Hamburger Overeaters Anonymous. In other words, the chase is on, baby!
So, will Captain Sharp catch up to Sam and Suzy before Social Services does? Will Walt and Laura's marriage become stronger because of their missing daughter? Or will Walt discover that Sharp and Laura have been, um, slammin' pelvises and exit stage left? Will Ward be able to keep Sam from being yanked back into foster care or worse: an orphanage? Why have Sam and Suzy eloped anyway? What happens when they find a deserted stretch of beach that they christen their "kingdom"? How long can they possibly elude their parents and the authorities before their little bubble of paradise get seriously burst? Are they going to wind up like Kate and Leo, er, Rose and Jack? That is, separated by a fucking iceberg in the form of the police and their families?
Put it this way: this is a Wes Anderson movie. Anything goes...
BUT, SERIOUSLY: We went to see MOONRISE KINGDOM with a friend and his visiting college pal. Our friend was also a Wes Anderson fan, so were weren't concerned about him "getting" this movie. However, we automatically assumed that his buddy was also a fan of Anderson's oeuvre since they were good friends. Turns out the friend wasn't, and after the movie, he had only once thing to say: "What did I just watch?"
This isn't entirely surprising or unwarranted. Wes Anderson is not for everyone. He has established himself as quite the quirky and whimsical auteur with fare like THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, THE DARJEELING LIMITED, THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, and - now - MOONRISE KINGDOM. This film represents somewhat of a change of pace for Anderson, and even his most ardent followers may have to switch gears a little. MOONRISE KINGDOM is Anderson's first true romance. While romantic elements have existed in all of his films, this outing places the love story front and center, instead of in the background.
Of course, you wouldn't expect Wes Anderson to tell a love story the way most other filmmakers would. The droll and offbeat tone of his previous films also permeates the story here, primarily the budding "affair" (chaste) between Sam and Suzy, which Anderson handles in a sober, almost clinical way. You would think that a clear-eyed and unsentimental approach would diminish the film's spirit of romance - but it actually somehow enhances it. By suppressing the film's romanticism with a dry approach, Anderson and his cast actually manage to enhance it and make it even more resonant. That is not an easy feat to accomplish, a few people other than Anderson could pull it off.
The entire cast is terrific, with Anderson mainstay Bill Murray his usual laconic/acerbic self as Suzy's borderline-bizarre dad, Walt. Frances McDormand is appropriately low-key as Laura, Suzy's restless mother. Bruce Willis tamps down his natural X-Factor vibrancy to play the stoic, flawed, but thoroughly decent Sharp. Willis has a nice father-son/mentor-protege rapport with Jared Gilman as Sam. Their relationship is a nice twinning counterpoint to Sam and Suzy's connection. Then there's Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzmann as, respectively: (1) Social Services, the nameless agent of bureaucracy sent to take Sam away to another, more grim, life; and (2) Cousin Ben, another scoutmaster who becomes Sam and Suzy's most valuable ally.
Make no mistake, though: this film belongs - as any very good romance should - to its leads. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward are talented young actors, and they perfectly embody Sam and Suzy, whose eccentricities mirror each other, making them true kindred spirits and soulmates. Gilman and Hayward mesh well together, and their scenes together are both dryly funny and unexpectedly touching. Anderson wisely takes a "slow burn" approach to their relationship, which makes the eventual emotional pay-off all the more satisfying. The final shot is especially lovely and gracefully brings together the film's themes of love found, love lost, and love regained.
In the end, Anderson tries to make a statement about the fleeting nature of love, juxtaposing Sam and Suzy's fresh and sweet union, with the meandering and stale ones of the adults around them. Will Sam and Suzy eventually grow up to marry - and wind up as unhappy as Walt and Laura. Or will their love endure?
Time will tell. Until then, they will always have their "Kingdom." Ultimately, MOONRISE KINGDOM is winningly quirky and offbeat Valentine to lost souls who become soulmates, the world over. It may not appeal to everyone - but those it does appeal to will relish and cherish it. I don't know if it's based on Wes Anderson's first love. If so, the story makes for a very good movie...
In closing, some music from MOONRISE KINGDOM. Francoise Hardy's "L'Temps Du L'Amour," which is French for "The Time Of Love."
