Moonrise Kingdom

My first experience with Wes Anderson was with a very quirky animation movie called The Fantastic Mr. Fox. If you haven’t seen it, then it should be on your must see list. And very soon after Mr. Fox, I encountered The Darjeeling Limited. Another fabulousl effort from Anderson – this time with music from Satyajeet Ray and Merchant Ivory movies all through. This too should be on your must watch list. Then pray, why should Moonrise Kingdom not make the cut?

It will not make the cut, if you are not into the quirky, dark satire that Anderson flirts with throughout the ninety odd minutes of the movie. You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because you do not have the patience to go through a rather slow start. You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because for about 30 minutes you would be scratching your head as to why the guy at the counter insisted that this is an “A” rated movie when all you can see is a bunch of Khaki Scouts in uniform and one twelve year old girl who comes from a rather demented family.

You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because you have not been able to, are incapable of and will not be ever in a position to sift through the finer nuances of sarcasm and irony that Anderson is such an expert at. Because you do not have a liking for comedy of the darkish variety that involves a bunch of fantastic kids taking a dig at the lives of us older people.

I must admit that I walked into the hall only because I had seen Anderson’s earlier movies and loved them. I also found it quite surprising that the distributors in India had managed to keep such a compelling and talented star cast under wraps till the date of release i.e. yesterday. Why would you not want to maximize your opportunity when you have the likes of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Harvey Kietel on your rolls? Add this to the mysteries of the unexplained that comes from Reader’s Digest.

Look out for the superb, understated performances from each one in the cast particularly the two twelve year olds – Kara Hayward & Jared Gilman – who play the role of 2 kids who claim to be in love and elope at the tender age. Set in 1965 in an otherwise desolate New Panzace Island which you can reach only by ferry or a bumpy propeller powered experience, Moonrise Kingdom is as quirky as quirky can get. And yet, totally enjoyable. Don’t leave the hall till you view the final credits. The music is simply superb. 7.5 on 10 for Wes Anderson. One of the better movies of the year to date.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi562733337/