Moonrise Kingdom

From the kooky, whimsical mind of Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox) comes a charming coming-of-age tale about the strength of young love set against the back-drop of 1960s New England, which opened this years Cannes Film Festival.

Sam (newcomer Jared Gilman) is a 12 year-old orphan, who is attending a ‘Khaki Scout’ summer camp, led by Scout Leader Randy Ward (Norton), located on an island town. Whilst there, Sam meets Suzy (Kaya Hayward), a girl vacationing on the island with her parents (Murray and McDormand). The two strike up a close friendship, which eventually develops into first love. They decide that next summer they will reunite on the island and run away together. Their actions spark widespread panic amongst the authorities of the island, leading to an island wide search led by the troubled and lonely Police Captain Sharp (Willis) and Suzy’s parents.

The coming-of-age tale, co-written by Roman Coppola, is a perfect template for Anderson to exude his cinematic charm as an auteur. The cast, as always with an Anderson movie, clearly have fun with their respective roles, the two young leads particularly stand out as confident and promising new talents.

Wes Anderson is sometimes considered an acquired taste amongst film-goers, yet there is no denying his unique and highly original style. His whimsical treatment of story material always produces a film of distinctive charm that many have tried to replicate, though never quite managing to. Moonrise Kingdom is no different, arguably his most assured and confident film yet as a filmmaker.

Andrew Gaudion