Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom
Thursday July 13
Century Riverside 12, Reno
USA, 2012, 94 min
CREDITS
Genre Drama

DirectorWes Anderson
WritersWes Anderson Roman Coppola
Starring
Bruce Willis
Edward Norton
Tilda Swinton
Bill Murray
Frances McDormand
Jason Schwartzman

Synopsis

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two 12-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in every which way. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff, Captain Sharp. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader, Scout Master Ward. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Bob Balaban; and introduces Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as Sam and Suzy, the boy and girl.

MY TAKE – Our first film experience in Reno deserves a word about the venue. I was in fear and trepidation over the dreaded multiplex, remembering the Metreon and 1000 Van Ness in SF — veritable ugly unpleasant zoos — but the Multiplex is what is here in Reno: Century Riverside 12, Cinemark Reno Summit Sierra, Century Reno Parklane 16, Keystone II Cinema, Century Sparks 14, etc.
Never mind. The Riverside is nearest, in a nice area on the Truckee River downtown, and very well done. Reno knows how to do Big Box. A nice experience all round. I look forward to enjoying a bite before or after at one of the bars/grilles/restaurants in the area.

But what about Moonrise Kingdom?
Here’s what sons n sibs thought —
W –and by the way…  Moonrise Kingdom was an unexpected jewel.
Tom –Moonrise Kingdom was terrific.  Creative, quirky, and tightly drawn.  See it.
MoviE — …however the movie is a very sweet postcard to adolescence filtered in yellow and red.

I was interested because I saw Bill Murray flog the film on Letterman. Little did I know he was hardly in it… same with the other “STARS.” But Sam and Suzy held our interest and hearts while zanyness of every order swirled around them. Thoroughly unexpected, quirky and enjoyable.

Here’s what I liked about what some critics had to say:
Amy Biancolli of the San Francisco Chronicle
It’s an adventure, a love story, a biblical allegory complete with approaching storm, a mash note to composer Benjamin Britten and a profoundly touching discourse on the needs of troubled children.
Anthony Lane of the New Yorker
We may look back on Anderson’s works as we do on the boxes of Joseph Cornell — formal troves of frippery, studded with nostalgic private jokes, that lodge inexplicably in the heart. In Moonrise Kingdom, that lodging is already under way.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times
Wes Anderson’s mind must be an exciting place for a story idea to be born
The success of “Moonrise Kingdom” depends on its understated gravity. None of the actors ever play for laughs or put sardonic spins on their material. We don’t feel they’re kidding. Yes, we know these events are less than likely, and the film’s entire world is fantastical. But what happens in a fantasy can be more involving than what happens in life, and thank goodness for that.

Ebert also uses the words “magical realism” which I find apropos.