Moonrise Kingdom was the second Wes Anderson movie I ever saw, and I wasnāt sure I was going to see it because I was lukewarm on Fantastic Mr. Fox (which, incidentally, every other person alive seems to love, so you and I both should probably give it another look).
Anyway, I will always be glad I took a chance on this movie, because I love it. Itās a near-perfectly crafted cocktail of sweetness and bitterness, set in an idyllic Norman Rockwell-esque vision of 1960s New England. And it somehow balances a charming, sweet script with heavy themes like escape mental health, trust, loneliness, and exclusion.
There are several laugh-out-loud scenes and quirky Andersonian touches, but what really elevates this movie from good to great is that undercurrent of darkness and believable characters at its core. And as if that werenāt enough, Alexandre Desplatās score is extraordinary. Highly recommended.