Wes Anderson Made A New Movie with Bill Murray and Jason Schwarzmann..SHOCKED! [Moonrise Kingdom]

Cafe Society
21

I saw it last week and am still a bit nonplussed that my two favorite movies of the year so far are “Moonrise Kingdom” and “The Avengers.” Two movies that couldn’t be more different, but which share the commonality that they were both made by writer-directors at the top of their game.

My rankings:

  1. The Royal Tenenbaums
  2. Moonrise Kingdom
  3. Rushmore
  4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
    (reasonably big gap)
  5. Life Aquatic
    (another reasonably big gap)
  6. Darjeeling Limited

Haven’t seen “Bottle Rocket,” but I know I need to at some point.

22

I think it’s easily Wes Anderson’s best film and solves many of the problems which made his past films, for me, quite infuriating. For I am one who admires his meticulous nature, but that also made his films quite bloodless and overly schematic and just a little too precious with the whimsy. Rushmore I liked, primarily because of Murray, but Tenenbaums I found insufferable whenever Gene Hackman wasn’t on screen and the law of diminishing returns has applied to his films since. The exception is the absolutely wonderful Fantastic Mr. Fox, which only seemed a validation of how he belonged in a genuine storybook environment and away from live action pieces.

But Moonrise is easily his best film for me, because (a) he sets the film in the past, making it his first period film, and (b) he concentrates on the kids, who are real and believable in their characterizations, unlike the OTT Max Fisher. Also, it may be the most perfect casting of Edward Norton in the last 15 years, and, despite some familiar faces per the thread title, brings new energy with inventive casting too (Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban).

Ultimately, it’s a meditation on childhood and being an outcast by virtue of being “difficult” (aka, authentic). It doesn’t shy away from the curiosity about sex and the propensity toward violence that pubescence involves, but makes it feel very real and not sentimentalized or exaggerated. And it’s about the beauty of finding a kindred spirit, someone with whom you can exist in a comfortable shorthand, not because you’re identical, but because you’re a natural fit. It’s really his first believable love story, but it’s not a romance. And by making it a period film, the effect of the little details in music or set design or adult behaviors (none of which are excessive) comes across as charming and nostalgic, as opposed to hyper-self-conscious.

In short, I think it’s marvelous, because it has real emotional weight and not mere posturing (which is how most of his other films have felt like) but it doesn’t lose any of the elements that make a Wes Anderson film distinctly his. I was certainly surprised by how much I liked it, but it will be even more surprising if it doesn’t end up in my top 3 films by the end of the year.

23

I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan. I loved it. Edward Norton in an Anderson film was a bit jarring, but he pulled it off quite well.

24

I saw it a couple weeks ago. Dug the hell out of it, although the only other Anderson I’ve seen are Rushmore and Royal Tennenbaums, both of them when they were new, or at least new-ish.

–Cliffy

25

Moonrise Kingdom
Rushmore
Life Aquatic / Darjeeling Limited
The Royal Tenenbaums

Fantastic Mr. Fox I fell asleep during. Bottle Rocket I haven’t seen.

Anyway, I loved this film. It was really funny, offbeat, and sweet. And I loved the way the kids tried to act like adults.

26

I really liked it, but I’m a big Wed Anderson fan, I enjoy watching him create this unique, quirky world and then release his characters into it. It wasn’t my favorite by him, I found the ending too pat and predictable for that, but it was really, really good.

My ranking:

  1. Rushmore
  2. The Royal Tenenbaums
  3. Bottle Rocket
  4. The Life Aquatic
  5. Moonrise Kingdom
  6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
  7. Darjeeling Limited
27

Insane ranking. I have no idea why 5 and 6 are ranked so.

28

Actually, I would have to disagree with this. It seemed different from his other movies, possibly because of the kids playing such a prominent role. Jason Shwartzmann is hardly in it, as you note.

I thought it was very well done and enjoyed it a lot. Bruce Willis is great, especially when he turns all Bruce Willis-ey at the end. The kids were adorable and I was rooting for them the whole movie. I loved the 70’s home movie style of the thing. Very sentimental and romantic, but that’s just what I needed right now.

I’d grown weary of Wes Anderson, but I’m really glad my friend talked me into seeing this.

29

Aw, that’s wonderful, I’m so glad to hear it! I love being wrong on something like that :).

30

That seems a bit nitpicky to focus on one particular ranking. Why do you feel the opposite way about those two movies?

31

With the caveat that I haven’t seen Darjeeling Limited, my ranking would be the same. I’d put Moonrise Kingdom somewhere in the middle.

32

I saw it last night and liked it - particularly Sam and Suzy. By placing the scouts and their relationships at the forefront, Anderson gave the story more gravity than it would’ve had otherwise. There were times the stilted dialogue gave it an ‘Aww, these kids are so darn precocious!’ feel, but most of the time it worked and you could feel the loneliness Sam and Suzy were trying to escape. I thought the movie worked because that feeling and that relationship were taken seriously no matter how silly some of the background stuff got and because the cast was so good. I’ve seen most of Anderson’s movies and I think I’ve gradually lost enthusiasm because they can feel a little repetitive, but I agree this is one of his best.

33

The kids are what made the movie for me. Both of them were great. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and the crushes I had back then. I went to see it with my father though, and I don’t know if it was his type of movie… so periodically I would get distracted from the movie wondering if he was enjoying it. He said he liked it.

34

I’ve never seen a Wes Anderson movie before, and I have no idea who Jason Schwartzman is, but based on reviews, we decided to go see it last night. My verdict? I really enjoyed it. It was sweet and quirky, romantic without being schmaltzy. He really captured the feel of the 60s, right down to the plastic record player and Suzy’s really bad blue eye shadow.

Loved Ed Norton’s portrayal of the earnest Scout Master and the fact that the adult infidelity didn’t become the center of the show. Enjoyed the hints of a developing relationship with the telephone operator. Loved the younger brother (“You’ve betrayed our family.”) and the mother who was unfaithful but neither a shrew nor a saint. The french kiss was hysterical.

I wish he would have left out a few things that were over the top, namely the narrator who periodically appeared as a character in the middle of the story, and all three surviving that physics-defying blast at the end.

35

I just saw it myself and I really enjoyed it. I would still put Royal Tenenbaums on the top of the heap, but Moonrise Kingdom comes close. Loved Sam and Suzy and Bruce Willis managed to make it work in a Wes Anderson film (something I was wondering about). Edward Norton was perfect. Unfortunately it seems like Bill Murray played a similar role to his in Royal Tenenbaums. Not sure if I liked the climatic scene in the storm, but I’ll give it a pass because the rest of the movie was so good.

36

I wish the OP’s title contained the name of the film, so others would read this thread.

We saw the film yesterday (off work on vacation this week) and it had a decent size crowd for a Tuesday afternoon!

We liked it a lot - and as others have mentioned, “quirky” doesn’t begin to describe the style of this film, but it works on so many levels.

As a real love story of two young kids, it was quite beautiful and touching.
As a period piece, they got all of the little nuances down perfectly - from the set to the set pieces and fashion and dialogue, the whole era was nicely captured on film.

Oscar bait? Not sure if it was that good - but it was a great little film that I think will become a hit when it starts running on cable. My guess is there will be another thread about how great Moonrise Kingdom is when it comes out on DVD/on HBO or whatever, and others think they have discovered this little gem on their own.

37

I saw it this weekend and really enjoyed it (as did the wife). There were a couple of moments that I thought were too self-consciously offbeat (I’m thinking of you, trampoline scene) and a couple of moments where I thought the kids were a little too intense/adult-like, but those were small moments in an otherwise delightful film.

It doesn’t hurt that I know someone who had a small but featured role. Fun!

38

Well this is interesting: Johnny Depp has been cast for Anderson’s next movie.

39

Just saw it this evening, and absolutely loved it. Yeah, it’s a bit precious, like all of Anderson’s films I’ve seen, but speaking as a former boy scout who was not well liked, wore black-rimmed glasses and suffered through more than a few unrequited crushes during adolescence, this flick really spoke to me.

The two central kids were great, and of the adults, Willis, McDormand and especially Norton, were standouts. Bob Balaban’s showing up in his red mackinaw and bobble hat to move the plot along cracked me up every time I saw him. Also liked all the jokey, fetishy little boy scout touches, such as the rank patches and merit badges.

I’ll admit to only having seen a handful of films this year, but this is easily my favorite so far.

40

I enjoyed the storyline and the actors, especially the new, young ones.

I can’t say I was thrilled with the director’s style. As I watched, I kept thinking, “People don’t walk like that, nothing is lined up that straight, kids don’t sit that way, houses don’t look like that,” and so on.

Oh, well.