Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
FINALLY saw Moonrise Kingdom over the weekend. Wes Anderson is one of my all-time favorite directors. However, I think that his brilliance can work against him at times; ever since Royal Tenenbaums, I have had ridiculously high hopes for everything that he has put out, which unfortunately means that sometimes I'm disappointed (Life Aquatic) but sometimes I'm absolutely blown away when those high hopes are exceeded (Darjeeling Limited).
With the anticipation of Moonrise Kingdom, my hopes were just as high as usual. And, don't get me wrong, it was an incredibly beautiful movie, the new players to his cast were superb (both the young lovers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward were incredible, and Norton and Willis were absolutely perfect), the tone was his usual removed tenderness, and this movie felt as though it was almost an homage to himself.
But while I did enjoy the movie, there's something about it that was a miss with me that I just can't put my finger on - It was good, yes, very very good - But the great and mind-blowing epic that people painted it to be? I'm not sure. I felt as though I was watching a piece being performed that I'd seen many, many times before, waiting for its cast to hit the high and low moments on schedule - Mayhaps this is the "trap" of following your own stilted formula; what you do is expected, and so, in the end, the finale isn't necessarily fulfilling; it's just expected.
What I DID like about the film (outside of the actors, and the more I think about it the more I absolutely adored Norton) - (CONTAINS SPOILERS):
- The allusions to Peter Pan, Wendy, and the Lost Boys, even culminating in them wearing animal garb (the scene of her reading to them was simply beautiful).
- I feel we came full-circle on the "lost father" theme that appears in all of Anderson's films. Seeking or mourning a father figure is a huge theme in his movies and the fact that our main character finally "finds" a father in the end - Simply wonderful and touching. I feel as though this was a moment Anderson was leading us to for 14 years and 5 movies. I did know that it was coming, however, and I thought it would be Norton who would step up.
All in all, I think this movie was very, very good. I might have a better appreciation for it after a second viewing (I am currently working on rewatching Anderson's repetoir right from the very beginning), BUT I wasn't blown away.
I still maintain that:
- The Royal Tenenbaums was his opus, his absolute masterpiece.
and
- Darjeeling Limited is my personal favorite.
3.5/5.
...
Bottle Rocket (1996)
After being a bit confused at my disappointment in Moonrise Kingdom, I figured it made sense to start at the beginning and rewatch Anderson's works to see if they still resonated in me as they had in the past.
And it's been a long, long time since I've seen
Bottle Rocket.
All in all, I thought the movie was just
ok; I think my favorite part was the romance between Luke Wilson and Ines, though watching the Wilson brothers together with Owen slightly unhinged was fun.
Definitely a bit slower than I remember, but interesting to see how Anderson got his start. Not a bad one, but not one of my favorites.
3/5. (I think it gets a nostalgia mark-up - I don't think I could ever give Anderson less than a 3 :o)