Moonrise Kingdom

            The new Wes Anderson movie, “Moonrise Kingdom,” is a romantic drama. Anderson co-wrote it with Roman Coppola, and the movie includes many stars like Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and Bill Murray. However, the main characters in the movie are acted by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. I think all these people came together to make a great movie.

            The movie takes place in the 1960s. Sam (Gilman) and Suzy (Hayward) fall in love, and the young couple decides to run away together. Several groups of people in the town go searching for them. The chaos that ensues turns the town on its head.

            It’s obvious from the very start that this is an Anderson movie. The rich, warm colors are a common theme throughout his movies. The villain, however, is seen in the cooler color blue. The warm and cool colors, which are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, are used very effectively to show the difference of good and bad. Not only are the colors distinctive, but the whole look of the movie shows the quirkiness of Anderson’s style. It looks realistic, but it feels a little off somehow, like something just isn’t quite normal in that world. The general appearance of the movie seems to be from a children’s book.

            The acting is well done throughout “Moonrise Kingdom.” This is especially important to note since this was the first movie the two main actors have been in. They understood the quirkiness and embraced it. Gilman and Hayward acted as if the unusual things they were doing were just normal parts of their characters’ lives.  The other actors were also great. They played the secondary characters as if their unique characteristics were their own.

            Another important thing to note is the music. The orchestral score fits the movie so well. It had a unique quality infused with the classical elements. Music was used very effectively to set the tone of the movie, which is often important to getting the people involved in the world on the screen.

            The distinctive elements of Anderson movies are something to be experienced. Other movies I have seen by him are “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Out of these, “Moonrise Kingdom” is my favorite.

These films might not be your thing if all you want from movies are comedy or action. They are very artistic and stylized, and you need to go into them with the right mind set. Despite the type of movies you like, “Moonrise Kingdom” is a movie everyone should see at some point.