It's 1965 New England and 12 year old Sam (Jared Gilman) escapes from his scout camp and meets up with young Suzy (Kara Hayward) to run away together. Her family and the scout troop, along with a social worker, attempt to find them before a storm of the century hits the island.
That's the basic plot of what I consider the best picture I have seen this year. To start off, it's a Wes Anderson film, a director known for some quirky movies ("Rushmore," "Bottle Rocket," "The Royal Tennenbaums.") In this movie, he takes an old trope of young kids at the onset of puberty who want to be together (think "Friends," the movie for which Elton John wrote "This is Your Song") and yet made it the most original movie of the year.
My initial reaction was to the art and set design. The movie opens with a panoramic view of the rooms of the best "lighthouse" house I've ever seen (I want to live there!) The 1965 details are exquisite, down to the board games the kids play with, to the battery-operated record player with the plastic lid. And anyone who has ever been in the boy scouts can relate to the scout camp.
And speaking of scout camp, the costume designers are also remarkable. The kerchiefs (does anyone use that term anymore?) to the knee socks and badges are spot on. Then there is the performance of Noah's Ark in the local church where the children (about 2 dozen?!) are dressed as various animals. And once again this takes me back to the art direction...spectacular in a local theater group way.
Another standout has to be the cinematography: from the soft greens of the woods, to the foggy sunset scenes at the light house, to how the rain water glistens off Suzy's hair...there are scenes you could frame and hang on the wall. It's a beautiful movie to see.
Now the acting. You have a core of great actors: Bill Murray and Francis McDormand as Suzy's parents, Ed Norton as the Scout Leader, Bruce Willis as the Sheriff, Tilda Swinton as the Social Worker, and cameos by Jason Schwartzman and Harvey Keitel. But the keys to this movie are Sam and Suzy. I don't know where Wes Anderson found Jared and Kara, but they work! They are supposed to be outcasts yet wise beyond their years and the connection between the two of them had me cheering for them throughout the movie.
And the music. It's been years since I've wanted to run out and buy the soundtrack to a movie. The spell has been broken- I'm buying this one tomorrow! Suzy's brother puts on an album of Benjamin Britton: one of those Leonard Bernstein "Let's teach children about the orchestra" deals where the narrator says "first comes the harp, then comes the clarinet...etc, etc, etc.) For some reason this works beautifully in the movie (so much in fact the hair was standing up on my arms at one point.) And the scene where Suzy plays a French 45 record (if I have to explain this, I will track you down) while they dance on the shore in their underwear is perfect...typical 60's European tune that gets them to dance without any inhibitions. I stayed for the credits, just to see the music credits (until my husband told me that we should go because the usher who needs to clean the theater is glaring at us.)
So as you can tell, I loved this movie. I've been slack lately with the blog, but when I get inspired, I have to write one; whether it's the best or not...I'm finding that my problem is if I don't do it right away (re "Ted") I don't do it. So here you go.
And go see "Moonrise Kingdom." ................... And keep it reel.
