Moonrise Kingdom
Have you ever wanted to just run away? Leave everything behind for someone you love? How about when you were twelve years old, did you feel like your parents never understood you? Wanted to get ahead of the reality that is life?
Perplexing questions for most, but none taken for granted in Moonrise Kingdom.
Our story, written and directed by Wes Anderson (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox), follows two youngsters who, inevitably, find each other within the small confines for their little island off of the New England Coast. Suzy and Sam are like any normal youths: curious, smarter than everyone thinks, resourceful, and educated in their craft. Yet, they’re also abnormal. Suzy’s parents think she is a troubled child (even have a book titled Living with a Troubled Child, and Sam has faced tragedy with both of his parents dying when he was young. As such, he’s a foster kid and she is a misfit in her perfect little family.
Sam is on the island due to his Khaki Scout responsibility; Suzy is there due to her parents being the wealthy lawyers. This fact alone is a big look into what many youth face in our world today, which is curious. Because these two oddballs being too abnormal for normal life, they, unavoidably, get together and scheme a plan to run away. They just want to live with one another, because in their eyes they’re meant to be together. Of course, no one else is able, or even willing, to understand them.
They do run away, and the ensuing dramedy, so to speak, is full of wilderness trekking, troubled kids, jealous Khaki Scouts, lightning storms, and an unspeakable saving of two kids’ lives. It’s so daring to watch, because the story touches on friends and enemies; why we have them. It also describes affairs that fit too well into the mold of our lives today. Between cheating scandals, a failed marriage, a math teacher trying to make something of his life, and the accidental killing of a dog (in a terrible way, mind you) all brings something of depth to this otherwise simple tale.
Also, we often try to interfere with others’ choices because, well, we don’t like them. Or simply don’t agree with them. But that’s what you get when people can’t understand the choices you want to make. Who’s to say that Suzy and Sam wouldn’t have been able to (forever, not just on the island for three days) survive on their own?
This is a big deal in today’s world, simply because we all think like this. Even if you won’t admit to it, we all want the fast lane to whatever our goals (or wants) may be. Why is this? Because ultimately life is short. Sam and Suzy knew this, so they started their adventure young; pen pals, ran away together, learned about one another, got married. Boom. They did it in a few months. Here we have these naive, young people who seemingly what nothing more than to just grow up so fast. Never do they stop to just smell the roses, so to speak.
Alas, one of the most striking parts of this film was the constant reminder of what it’s like to move life a little too fast; but also what you become if done too slow. Take our cop, played brilliantly by Bruce Willis, who, described by Suzy, “is just sad and dumb.”, which is the unfortunate truth. He even goes so far to say to Sam that, “you’re smarter than me, kid.” Why does that matter? Truthfully, these characters are what you might expect in the mid 60’s: very stereotypical of children, women, and men. Yet, there’s something polarizing about how are characters behave, relative to where they are in their respective lives.
Anderson’s script here really paves the way for everything, and in the 92 minutes of screen time (which will fly by), one truly gets a sense of these kids and their journey. Even though it may only be 3.5 miles long, the story is a masterpiece in what you’d expect from modern cinema. Also, among other aspects of the film, the camera work and cinematography are simply stunning: swift, fluid camera angles and unique shots make for a remarkably entertaining film.
Altogether though, it’s funny, smart, quaint, engaging, even frightening at times. However, this doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s such an accurate epitome of what we are in today’s society. All presented behind the glasses, mascara, and love of two 12-year-old kids.
