Quote of the Week Review: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

By Thomas Broome-Jones

"These are my books. I like stories with magic powers in them. Either in kingdoms on Earth or on foreign planets. Usually I prefer a girl hero, but not always."

There's no wedding like a Wes Anderson wedding.

Masterful, loving, warm and heartfelt. Some choice words for Wes Anderson's incredible achievement known as Moonrise Kingdom. If you were to compile a list of true all-time great films from the 2000s it would be a short one, but this belongs on every single list on such a subject.

Anderson is renowned for his quirky and offbeat approach to filmmaking, his distinct style has earned his well-deserved acclaim from the public as well as critics. So, teaming up with Roman Coppola, the son of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, Anderson has crafted something special and almost transcendent of every other film released within the last 10 years or so.

From the scorching opening sequence enriching the frame with vivid colours and whip pan camera movement to keep the pace up, a unique story is set in place. This is a story about love, but the film is so much more than that. Don't go into this thinking you'll be given a simple romance, the word "simple" is most definitely not an adjective applicable to the work of Wes Anderson. Childlike innocence, the absence of authority and guidance, the importance of human connection, this film is about humanity.

The plot concerns a runaway scout who desires to be with a girl he has fallen in love with, his scout leader, who is portrayed magnificently by Edward Norton, goes on a mission to track him down. The location of an isolated island seemingly inhabited by talented actors builds an almost dream-like world for the audience to lose itself in. This is a real strength that Anderson possesses, his films almost feel unreal and yet the problems within them are so easy to relate to, it's like the impossible meeting the possible, negativity in what should be a perfect world.

The comedy is spot on, which is to be expected with the talent involved both behind the camera and in front of it. I'm talking of course about Bill Murray, a man who is widely regarded as the finest comic actor of his generation, and rightly so. Murray is piercingly funny and despicable at the same time here, something at which he is somewhat of a veteran at. Whether he's throwing his shoe at Edward Norton or getting drunk and chopping down trees whilst his apathetic children dutifully ignore him, he's stealing the scene whenever he's in frame. A real return to form from the man who was in not one but two 'Garfield' films, oh, the pain.

The focus on children feuding with one another is reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, but at the same time feels like an original plot element. The children are remarkably able to hold their own with a cast that consists of two Oscar winners and two Oscar nominees as they shatter the preconception that child actors aren't up to par with adult performers. Their characters are believable as well as empathetic, their darker sides are balanced with morals and other human qualities.

Not many films I have seen feel as genuine as 'Moonrise Kingdom', which is somewhat ironic as it toys with reality at numerous intervals. It's something beautiful that I have fallen in love with, Wes Anderson has stolen my heart as a film lover and has sold me on his upcoming feature The Grand Budapest Hotel, which sports a few cast members from this particular picture. The genius in the craft work of Moonrise Kingdom caresses the soul and hits you with Cupid's bow, a romantic film in both the philosophical and figurative sense that can be enjoyed on more than one level, you have to see this.

Thomas Broome-Jones is on Twitter, you can follow him @TBroomey.