Don’t believe it when people tell you that Wes Anderson has “lost it.” Uncle Harry caught a sneak peak of Anderson’s latest flick and from the sounds of it, you might want to pre-purchase your tickets if it’s available in your city this weekend. Check out the movie’s companion short via Entertainment Weekly.
Moonrise Kingdom Trailer
Moonrise Kingdom Trailer from Jason Weinberger on Vimeo.
As I rushed straight from work, still dressed in a shirt and tie, I arrived at the famed Hollywood Arclight/Cinerama Theater for an advanced showing of Wes Anderson’s new project Moonrise Kingdom. Delighted and fascinated, my attire made me the odd man out amongst the cadre of avid Wes Anderson fans in attendance who looked a bit too like Jason Schwartman ala Rushmore to be coincidence. The theater buzzed with excitement and folks smiled as they passed by a small exhibit hosting genuine costumes and props from the motion picture.
With the allegorical/morality play The Fantastic Mr. Fox and the adult coming of age story Darjeeling Limited still fresh in my mind, I was curious to see what story Anderson would develop this time around. It is evident that he has come back to form with strong character development and a compelling story of the human condition that I have not seen so carefully crafted since Royal Tenenbaums. Staged on the fictional New England island of New Penzance in 1965, the story focuses on two adolescent protagonists who fall in love. Sam, our male protagonist, has made it his mission to reconnect with Suzy who he instantly feel in love with as she was playing the role of a raven during a stage play performed at the local island church. Suzy, artfully portrayed by Kara Hayward, continues to correspond through letters with Sam in the hopes of reuniting soon. She shares a home on the opposite end of the island with her three musically fixated brothers and two aloof attorney parents, played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand.
Anderson is meticulous in developing the protagonists. Both characters stand in defiance from the cookie cutter personas their peers exhibit and demonstrate a highly mature sense of self. Their unrequited love stands in direct contrast to the adults in the movie, particularly Suzy’s parents, who have become static individuals and are eventually forced to reconcile their floundering relationship. Interestingly set during one of America’s most politically and socially tumultuous times, while the island seems unaffected, one cannot help thinking what message Anderson sends by choosing this time period.
“To thine own self be true” resonates as Suzy and Sam’s deep understanding of themselves push audience members to ask if they are as confident in their own skin as our protagonists. Moonrise Kingdom is a much needed and refreshing view of love and the human condition not as told by the archetypically predictable charters of Disney and major motion pictures, but through intrinsically complex characters who we come to love for their integrity and unapologetic view of who they are and more importantly what they are to one another. With no intention of trying to change the other, they openly celebrate what others may consider to be character flaws. It stands as a reminder that the more honest we are with ourselves and to one another, the bigger the window to the soul becomes. Sam and Suzy represent true equals and we are fortunate enough to witness them delve deeper into discovering one another at a self built Boy Scout encampment Sam built dubbed, Moonrise Kingdom.
UNCLE HARRY