Moonrise Kingdom: A Nostalgic Journey into Childhood Longing
In the quaint New England of 1965, scout leader Ward (Edward Norton) is faced with a predicament: one of his scouts, a young boy named Sam (Jared Gilman), has vanished. Teaming up with the local Sheriff Sharp (Bruce Willis), Ward soon discovers that Sam has likely run off with Suzy (Kara Hayward), the daughter of the eccentric Bishop couple (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), both practicing attorneys.
There’s an undeniable charm to the worlds crafted by Wes Anderson, the Houston-born, Dallas-educated director and screenwriter. His meticulously designed vibrancy feels both deliberately artificial and strikingly real, simultaneously pretentious and deeply touching. In Anderson’s hands, a tale of first love, tender regret, coming-of-age, and second chances transforms into another quintessential American film that evokes a longing for a childhood we may have never experienced. It’s akin to how “Adventureland” immerses you in the world of theme parks with their hidden flaws, or how “Dazed and Confused” makes you yearn for the seemingly carefree days of the 1970s.
The fact that “Moonrise Kingdom” draws parallels to Richard Linklater’s rock-and-roll-infused masterpiece and François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” speaks volumes about Anderson’s refined taste and his unique approach to storytelling. Watching his films, you feel compelled to delve deeper into European and American cinema, yet there’s never a sense that he’s trying to flaunt his intellect. These are films made by someone who can read Proust with the same ease as watching “North by Northwest.” Anderson’s creative realm, with its European sensibilities and American landscapes, exists somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, in a land we might call Andersonia. Sometimes it’s a bit chilly (“The Royal Tenenbaums”), sometimes a little too breezy (“The Darjeeling Limited”), but once you acclimate, you’ll discover warm, beautiful, and welcoming, albeit quirky, places.
The Heart and Soul of the Film
“Moonrise Kingdom” feels like a spiritual successor to “The Life Aquatic.” And it’s not just because Bill Murray appears in both films – that’s almost a given. Both share a sense of melancholy for paths not taken and love that has faded. While the relationship between the runaway protagonists is the heart of “Moonrise Kingdom,” its “body” is the story of the unhappy marriage of the Bishops (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) and the bumbling sheriff. Bruce Willis delivers a restrained and poignant performance as the local lawman, whose life is filled with quiet desperation, yet a spark ignites within him when he witnesses the innocence of first love. Murray and McDormand imbue their characters with an underlying warmth, a remnant of a happier time in their relationship. With charming, albeit unsettling, honesty, the film reveals that parents often have no idea what to do with their children, and their biggest fear is that their offspring might turn out just like them.
The Allure of Innocence and Naiveté
The characters in the film, whether they’re children or the initially clueless scout leader (Edward Norton), who is first ridiculed and then admired, are endearing in their simplicity and self-assurance. Perhaps the absence of doubt is what we miss most when we reflect on our youth because you’re only truly certain of your own righteousness when you’re yet to learn how bitterly wrong you can be. This is precisely the allure of Sam and Suzy’s love. Running away together and hiding in a cave, believing that the parents you don’t love will never find you; hoping that new love can replace those you’ve lost – it’s all madness.
But they want to believe in this fairytale. And so do we.