Moonrise Kingdom

Started by MacGuffin, September 29, 2010, 02:30:12 PM

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Sleepless

Probably some minor spoils...

I liked it, I just didn't like it that much. I'm not sure where this fits into my personal scale of preference of WA's films. For all the stylistic flourishes we've come to associate with WA (the tracking shots through extensive sets, the obsessive head-on framing, the slow motion walking - all of which are here), the film is largely absent of the neatly cluttered details which are found in most of his films. The sets seem largely natural and realistic, despite the overall storybook sixties tone.

For some reason there were large portions of this which felt to me more like an early Coen brother's film than a WA film. Perhaps that was largely partly because of the art direction employed throughout the film, but I think it also had a lot to do with the actors. I'm thinking in particular of the electro-shock scene with EN and BW. That said, the scene where Sam fights the bully by the infirmary tent was strongly reminiscent of Max's fight with Magnus in Rushmore.

I'm trying to think of what I can say about the acting in the film, and it's sad to say but I don't really have a lot to say. Of the adult characters, there is very little to root in. I found myself really wanting more depth in EN and BW's characters, because it feels like there is so much more there, but the film gives us just the barest of hints. The standout is obviously Kara Hayward and she really shines in the first third of the film (despite my discomfort at watching a 13-yo in her underwear). Jared Gilman is a poor man's JS. The real JS doesn't really have much do to, to be honest. None of the adults really do, not even Harvey Keitel who I didn't even realize was in this.

My biggest disappointment with this film was that I left the cinema no different from when I entered. It just didn't affect me in any substantial way. I've been analyzing it, trying to figure out what the problem was, and I think it's just the fact that there's no real hope/fear here. Two kids run away from home on a small island - of course their parents/police are going to find them. It was just a matter of sitting there and let it play out.

The first third of this film was definitely the strongest (and the most French). I would have liked to have seen more made of Sam and Suzy's initial adventure. Although it was relatively "real" it was in my mind the most significant section of the whole film. As it went of, things became more fantastical yet inconsequential (explosions! lightning! flood!). Incidentally, the shooting style seemed to transition from more natural (or as natural as you might expect from WA) to more cinematic attempts including visual effects (I'm thinking particularly about the steeple top scene).

I'm not sure I know what I think about this film yet. It's not all that I was expecting/hoping it to be, but I'll stop short of saying I was disappointed. It warrants additional viewing. As a side note, I think I've finally learned my lesson that a WA should not be seen in the cinema with other people who are determined to laugh raucously at ever damn little thing "OMG he has a patch over his eye bwahahahahahahaha."

So yeah, there's my thoughts. Make of them what you will...
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

AntiDumbFrogQuestion

definitely a good Wes Anderson flick. Not as clunky in exposition as I was afraid it was gonna be.
Is it my imagination, or is his artificiality getting easier to swallow? Probably imagination.

goatcheeser

Not very impressed with this one. I thought the characters, especially the two leads, were underdeveloped for a WA film. The dialogue was lacking, nothing really notable. One of the bigger disappointments for me was the soundtrack. I am usually pretty impressed with WA's selection of music, not hating on Hank. In the end, as previously stated, I just didn't feel like I had witnessed anything extraordinary. The story in itself is not bad, interesting concept and definitely an original script, some cool Peter Pan and Norman Rockwell references. I guess I could sum the film up to being "cute." Would watch again just to see if there is something I am missing. Still, you should go see the damn movie for yourself. After all, it's Wes Anderson we are talking about. 

md

whoa you turned right around on that last post lol
"look hard at what pleases you and even harder at what doesn't" ~ carolyn forche

Reel

I agree with Rk, Ghostboy, whoever liked it. Those who didn't just blew their wad about it being something it's not before they even set foot in the theater. What it is is just a sweet storybook tale of a film. A lesser work of Anderson's for sure, but no less of a film for that fact.

tpfkabi

I keep waiting for it to expand to at least within 40 miles of me. It's hovering in the top 10 and I'm seeing ads pretty regularly, so maybe it will this week.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

pete

I recognize that there are artifices in the film, but I guess I've just never been aware enough of Mark Jacobs or that world to be distracted by things he references. I really liked the story and once again, the difference between Wes Anderson and his imitators (which I feel like is why people hate him - they really just hate Garden State and Jason Schwartzman), is that Anderson's shit is funny. He goes beyond quirks and soundtracks and gets some real laughs and emotions out of them. His characters, no matter how unbelievable their circumstances are, seem to take their emotions, especially their melancholy very seriously. There's something I can relate, past the whiteness and the preciousness. And Anderson is able to use that underlying loss to motivate his characters - Max from Rushmore wasn't just weird - he was also this poor kid who grew up without a mom and felt like he needed to be the guy he was pretending to be. In the same way Bruce Willis or Ed Norton's characters were sad in this picture. I had no problem buying the teenage girl's story, and if she were dressed in other ways and listened to other music, her fundamental story still would've been compelling.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

©brad

I agree with your analysis. I think at this point his detractors have no business seeing his films anymore. There shouldn't be a surprise at this point as to what you're gonna get with him. He's got his style. Yes it's often copied and parodied which isn't really his fault and yet contributes to this fatigue some cinephiles have with him.

Sleepless

^ Awesome post, Pete  :bravo: I think you've managed to articulate what I feel about his films - most particularly Darjeeling, Tenenbaums and Rushmore.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Ostrich Riding Cowboy

Quote from: Sleepless on June 15, 2012, 12:37:19 PM

My biggest disappointment with this film was that I left the cinema no different from when I entered. It just didn't affect me in any substantial way. I've been analyzing it, trying to figure out what the problem was, and I think it's just the fact that there's no real hope/fear here. Two kids run away from home on a small island - of course their parents/police are going to find them. It was just a matter of sitting there and let it play out.


In defense of inconsequential romances, I'd like to refer to Roman Holiday whose stakes aren't particularly high or Punch-Drunk Love which tries to say as little of import as possible.
DIDI: I missed you . . . and at the same time I was happy. Isn't that a strange thing?

tpfkabi

Quote from: Sleepless on June 15, 2012, 12:37:19 PM
(despite my discomfort at watching a 13-yo in her underwear).

So true. I thought I was going to be the only one in the theater, but then a 50-ish woman came in and set a few rows up on the other aisle. I don't really know why Wes even wanted to go there. Is that realistic for kids that age?

*spoils*

The editing in the lightning/chase sequence didn't make sense to me. It would seem like a big event, but they rushed past it very quickly and all the chasing kids seemed to disappear for a while and his friends showed up.

Don't understand the use of so much Hank. He does a 60's movie and uses 50's music?
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Sleepless

Quote from: Ostrich Riding Cowboy on July 16, 2012, 07:01:56 PM
Quote from: Sleepless on June 15, 2012, 12:37:19 PM

My biggest disappointment with this film was that I left the cinema no different from when I entered. It just didn't affect me in any substantial way. I've been analyzing it, trying to figure out what the problem was, and I think it's just the fact that there's no real hope/fear here. Two kids run away from home on a small island - of course their parents/police are going to find them. It was just a matter of sitting there and let it play out.


In defense of inconsequential romances, I'd like to refer to Roman Holiday whose stakes aren't particularly high or Punch-Drunk Love which tries to say as little of import as possible.

I have no beef with inconsequential comedies, and I should state at this point that I certainly need to review this again before I can give a truly fair assessment of the film. The sentence you highlight above refers to my problem that there was no real jeopardy in the film. For me personally, there wasn't enough of a relationship between the kids to really stake the whole hope/fear of the movie on it. It actually kind of reminded me of  Powell & Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death in which the lead couple share a scant couple of minutes in each other's presence before calling each other "darling" and taking on the afterlife for the sake of their true love. IT seems to me that's why Wes introduced the idea of electroshock therapy to try and up the ante. Then again, you could be right, maybe I'm simply hoping to get too much out of. Perhaps it's best viewed of a Sunday evening, chilling at home.

And since you mentioned Punch Drunk Love, I think there is definitely more at stake there. It's not an epic movie, but it's far from inconsequential. We see so much of Barry and his emotional/mental struggles that we feel this relationship is his last desperate hope for achieving happiness in his life. Without her, the time thing that sets him off could very well tip him over into the deep end. Of course, that's my gut emotional reaction to the film. I'm sure some people took something similar away from Moonrise Kingdom.

I'm not a Wes hater by any means. I think the problem is I went into this with certain expectations and they weren't met. Not that they should have been, of course.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Ostrich Riding Cowboy

When I say Punch-Drunk Love is inconsequential, I'm making a comparison to the rest of PTA's milieu with its morasses* of plot.  And this would be the comparison I'd apply to Moonrise Kingdom as it exists within Wes's milieu.

*I can't think of a nicer word; I mean a much nicer word.
DIDI: I missed you . . . and at the same time I was happy. Isn't that a strange thing?

Neil

So, I finally saw this, and it's just such a gem. A true treat.  Really. Maybe I'm crazy, but  I noticed at least two nods to The Shining as well as well as a possible monolith nod.   I feel as though this is mostly a giant love letter from Wes Anderson to film. especially the last twenty-to-thirty minutes. Unfortunately I don't know enough about film to recognize some of the references.
Quote from: Ghostboy on June 12, 2012, 05:25:42 PM
Yep, I loved this too. The last 20 minutes were breathtaking, visually and emotionally.

Agreed. During this, I kept thinking, is this a black and white film now? 

This movie is stylized in a way that is unique to WA, imo.  What i mean is, the film's not necessarily married to a color palette, instead, certain characters are married to them.  Don't get me wrong, this is not unique for WA, and there are certain atmospheric color palettes or whatever throughout the film, but I don't find them specifically trying to achieve the same things that Tenenbaums, or Life Aquatic, or even Darjeeling are trying to achieve, because it is essential within those films that the events that take place occur within their intricate environments.  This film has little microcosms of that, i.e Khaki Scouts,  Suze's household, Island Police, Child Services. Blah Blah

As for the music, there were maybe four Hank Williams songs in there.  It makes sense in where they're played if you ask me.  They are played while we're with the adults, listening to the radio, in 1965, I don't understand your complaints. Of course the adults are listening to that, while the children are listening to the stuff that's been out in the last few years.  I wouldn't be suprised if they played Hank during BW's scenes btw, which "long gone lonesome blues," "Ramblin' Man," "Kaw-Liga," all apply to his character and maybe others. 

Oh, and the score is one of the most elegant scores I've heard in a while.  I'm sad I didn't see this in theaters now, the end credits complied with the music, is one of the best I've EVER seen. Just fantastic.

Here's the thing with the film.  If you need it pointed out, or you need more exposition to understand that these kids don't realize the dangers and romanticism of, "running away," out in the wild, then I'm not sure what you got from the film.  The kid gets struck by lightning for cryin' out loud. Not only is this hilarious, it also showcases the danger they're in.  These things aren't served up as drama though, I feel like it's implied. The adults understand this, but our protagonist doesn't recognize the true peril of the world.  He's jaded due to the loss in his life. Maybe this is the wrong read. who knows.  But, I feel as though if you served it up dramatically, it's a completely different film.
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

Jeremy Blackman

I loved it.

All of Wes Anderson's quirks are finally consistently in service of something. Probably his most sincere and most character-driven movie. It's also frequently insane and surreal, which I did not expect. Hard to believe this is the same director who made Darjeeling.