Moonrise Kingdom review I love Wes Anderson, he makes it patently hard not to. In the past he’s made great movies, uber-twee meditations on the notion of the American family, chiefly characterised by the directors knowing sensibilities and forte for comedy. He pleases audiences and critics alike by combing his trademark meticulous style (and penchant for symmetrical photography) with a uniquely-quirky narrative style that somehow transcends its gimmickry and takes on real resonance. In Wes’ first non-animated picture since his self-indulgent opus The Darjeeling Limited (a strangely depthless exercise that signalled a rare misfire for the director) Anderson presents Moonrise Kingdom, a refreshingly uncynical depiction of young love in 1960s America. For a director with such a well established aesthetic Moonrise is something of an expectation movie, thankfully it surpassed (at least my own) expectations. It’s just as stylish as anything Anderson has ever done featuring another all-star cast but this time round Anderson imbues his film with a heartbreakingly-emotional core striking a balance between whimsicality and poignancy that is perfectly realised. It’s a film that, despite its stylistic gimmickry, embraces you with its warmth. Though Moonrise overstays its welcome at obvious points when the narrative feels somewhat slight (I didn’t even want Harvey Keitel in this fucking movie?!?!) you’ll hardly notice. All the way through to the ambitiously-handled closing set piece Moonrise Kingdom succeeds and once again the prince of the faux-hipsters and the tumblr-cinephiles has something to be proud of.  9

Moonrise Kingdom review

I love Wes Anderson, he makes it patently hard not to. In the past he’s made great movies, uber-twee meditations on the notion of the American family, chiefly characterised by the directors knowing sensibilities and forte for comedy. He pleases audiences and critics alike by combing his trademark meticulous style (and penchant for symmetrical photography) with a uniquely-quirky narrative style that somehow transcends its gimmickry and takes on real resonance. In Wes’ first non-animated picture since his self-indulgent opus The Darjeeling Limited (a strangely depthless exercise that signalled a rare misfire for the director) Anderson presents Moonrise Kingdom, a refreshingly uncynical depiction of young love in 1960s America. For a director with such a well established aesthetic Moonrise is something of an expectation movie, thankfully it surpassed (at least my own) expectations. It’s just as stylish as anything Anderson has ever done featuring another all-star cast but this time round Anderson imbues his film with a heartbreakingly-emotional core striking a balance between whimsicality and poignancy that is perfectly realised. It’s a film that, despite its stylistic gimmickry, embraces you with its warmth. Though Moonrise overstays its welcome at obvious points when the narrative feels somewhat slight (I didn’t even want Harvey Keitel in this fucking movie?!?!) you’ll hardly notice. All the way through to the ambitiously-handled closing set piece Moonrise Kingdom succeeds and once again the prince of the faux-hipsters and the tumblr-cinephiles has something to be proud of. 


9