But whatever.
So yesterday, on a whim I decided that Mama was going to the movies. It was 4:50pm and the next showing of the movie was at 5:10pm. Map Quest informed me that it was a 13 minute journey from my apartment to the theatre so I figured I had plenty of time since previews are usually 15 minutes long. Not having really considered the time since I'm currently unemployed, (when you're unemployed you lose all track of time; I rarely know what day of the week it is nowadays) I wasn't anticipating the amount of traffic there was on 45th Street. For all of my Arizona readers, 45th St. is the equivalent to University and you don't want to be trying to get to the movies while on University at 5pm on a Friday.
Somehow I managed to get to the theatre by 5:20pm (with time to spare, right?). I was pretty unnerved when the dude at the ticket counter told me it was $11.50 to see a movie on Friday. What the crap? I thought I was being smart by going to see a matinee but I guess in the Magical Land of Seattle, there is no such thing as a matinee on the weekend AND they wouldn't let me use my student ID being that it was the weekend either. Bastards.
Anyway, so let's get to the movie. This movie was adooooorable. I will say that it wasn't my favorite Wes Anderson film but it was very enjoyable. When I first heard about the film I was kind of ambivalent about the casting choices (mostly Bruce Willis) but after seeing the movie I will in the future support all of Mr. Anderson's casting decisions. Bruce Willis turned out to be perfect in his role as a lonely policeman. Edward Norton was fantastic as well as the Khaki Scout Master. The children are the heart of this film though and I think all of them were wonderful, marvelous even.
The story follows Sam and Suzy, two young lovers who decide to runaway together from their New England home which causes a massive search party to track them down. I thought that the connection between these two children was very endearing. I'm a sucker for a good pair of misfits. Despite their age, you really felt like Sam and Suzy did truly love each other. It reminded me of the relationship between Ponyo and Sosuke in "Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea". Even though the logical part of my brain had to remind me constantly that this was just a movie, I couldn't help but think, "Gee, I wish someone loved me that much." Sam was completely dedicated to Suzy and would've done anything for her. I've never experienced that kind of devotion in my twenty odd years. Sigh...
There are a few things about the film that I would have changed though. I didn't think that there needed to be any kind of sexuality between the two main characters. I had wanted their relationship to be completely innocent and pure (they were 12 for Pete's sake). We all know that there's a big difference anatomically between a 12 year old girl and a 12 year old boy so I think that showing Suzy in her bra and underwear wasn't the best choice. And that wasn't even the worst part. Sam and Suzy jump in the ocean and get their clothes soaked so while their clothes dry, they have a little dance party on the beach. This scene got a little too frisky for my taste. Seeing two children clumsily kissing in their underwear made me a bit uncomfortable. But maybe, Wes wanted you to be uncomfortable. First love is very uncomfortable and awkward. I guess I just tend to live in a fantasy world where 12 year olds still play with Barbies and don't French kiss boys. Still, I think the film could have been just as strong if they would have simply danced in their undies and nothing more.
My other gripe, if you will, with the film was the music. I feel like there could have been more variety. The whole movie was mostly Hank Williams and although I do enjoy his music, I don't know...I was hoping for something more. Wes Anderson's films always have such great soundtracks and I feel like this film's soundtrack choices fell a little short. The music didn't really stand out or have that much of an impact (in my humble opinion).
On par with the rest of his films, the costuming in "Moonrise Kingdom" was magical. I'm never disappointed with the costuming in his films, nor the art direction. The colors are always so vivid and bright so they really stand out in your memory. One thing I can't forget to add was how delightful Bob Balaban was as the narrator. I didn't know he was in the film so that was refreshing. Jason Schwartzman had a small but significant part in the movie and was hilarious as usual.
In conclusion, "Moonrise Kingdom" is an enchanting film and I'll bestow on to it four out of five pugs.
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