Cannes iPhone Review: Moonrise Kingdom
A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course. That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson’s natural state as an artist is artificial… and yet, somehow, intimate. Never has Anderson’s work as an artist been more clearly defined than in his latest, Moonrise Kingdom, which is premiering as I type at Cannes. (It premiered for what were once called the trades back in LA so that they could color it narrowly FIRST!. Sadly, the track record of the trades in Cannes has a history of suckage… but that’s another conversation that has become almost as irrelevant as said trades, handed out on the street here as though they are still in business as trades.)
But I digress…
Anderson’s celebrity quotient is lower here than in years and he’s down to celebrities who are elemental. That’s not to say their characters are predictable. But they offer distinct colors that add weight to the vehicle, but don’t read as BIG NAME ACTORS in Anderson’s papier-mâché world. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand are low key, worn-in parents… Edward Norton is a portrait of worry lines as a scout master… Bruce Willis is die hard enough to be a physical force when called upon but is mostly a sadsack.
But the movie is hung, more so than any Anderson movie since Bottle Rocket, on unknown, magnificent new faces Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. He doesn’t look like Dustin Hoffman, yet channels—he can’t know, can he? —Hoffman’s Graduate turn. And Hayward is a dead ringer for a 12-yr-old Jessica Chastain.
The movie is about their short, but powerful journey into young adulthood.
As in every Wes Anderson film, every shot is a still frame, meticulously designed and with the extra benefit of moving human life forms frolicking about. Sometimes, the humans are the canvas and inanimate objects frolicking about.
But with all the hyperreality of Anderson, when he hits it right, he offers remarkable intimacy. In this film, there is a first romantic sexual experience that certainly isn’t Real… but it finds the absolute truth of such moments… a universality in the agonizing detail.
My impulse is to call this a great movie. But I also want it to breathe. I want to experience it again and see how it settles in. After all, greatness is 2 parts time.
But I am completely comfortable in saying that this is the apex of Anderson’s personal filmmaking. I think its biggest fans and detractors will have to agree. The adults have been cooked down into a perfect, subtle sauce. There are still stunts, but they feel much more relaxed than in some of his past films. And the view inside the tiny box at a tiny moment on a tiny island from a tiny canoe feels like Anderson perfection.
I’m dyyyyying to see MOONRISE KINGDOM but am already infuriated that people are making fun of Anderson for being Anderson. As you said- he’s an artist and has a look. I don’t see people making fun of Hitchcock because of his fixation on icy blondes or Kubrick for being cold and distant. Just irks me that people have a tizzy about the “Wes Anderson Aesthetic.”
One reason to have a tizzy is that his aesthetic, unlike Hitchcock’s, can be really fucking annoying.
That said, I loved MOONRISE KINGDOM.
They can mock him all they want. I dig all his movies and have no problem admitting he uses a lot of the same tricks. But i like those tricks and find his stuff exceptionally endearing.
Cannot convey just how happy I am to hear all the positivity for Moonrise coming out of the fest. It’s easily my most anticipated movie of the summer. Haters be damned, I remain an unabashed fan of Anderson and his aesthetic. Absolutely cannot wait to see this.
Bagging on Anderson for his style is like stepping on a mouse. And the guy has heart and soul which separates him from some of the other imitators. Just watched THE DARJEELING EXPRESS again the other day. Lovely film.
Worst opening paragraph for any movie review I’ve ever read. Really, David, there can be some artistry in film criticism. Your first paragraph felt like I was listening to Ma Kettle looking at the Mona Lisa and giving her opinion. As in so many of your reviews, you aren’t definitive in your opinion. If you aren’t sure what your opinion is of the film then perhaps you should wait till you do have one. You will probably be defensive about this, but really….quoting a Mr. Ed theme song to review Wes Anderson?
Rank Wes Anderson films in order. I think they’re all great but if i had to pick my favorites
1. Royal Tennenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. Darjeeling Limited
4. Life Aquatic
5. Bottle Rocket
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. The Darjeeling Limited
4. The Life Aquatic
5. Rushmore
6. Bottle Rocket
Glamourboy: Don’t be too hard on David. For the past several years, he’s told us how irrelevant Cannes is. Now that he’s actually there, I’m sure he feels the need to tell us the trades are even more irrelevant because, hey, he’s there, and he can give us his opinion even before he’s nailed down quite what that opinion might be. And, hey, he can quote old TV sitcom themes.
1. RUSHMORE
2. BOTTLE ROCKET
3. FANTASTIC MR. FOX
4. LIFE AQUATIC etc.
5. THE DARJEELING LIMITED
6. THE ROYAL TENNENBAMS
BTW, that’s some filmography.
Wow, snark.
Original.
“BattleshipFan” – or should I say…
I rank the Wes Anderson movies:
1. BATTLESHIP
2. BATTLESHIP
3. BATTLESHIP
4. BATTLESHIP
5. BATTLESHIP
1) Rushmore
2) Fantastic Mr. Fox
3) Darjeeling
4) Tenenbaums
5) Bottle Rocket
6) Life Aquatic
Wow, MarkVH hit my order precisely
1. Rushmore
2. The Royal Tenenbaums
3. The Life Aquatic
4. The Darjeeling Limited
5. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. Bottle Rocket
Can’t be fair to Bottle Rocket, which I’ve only seen once a long time ago. I was a little disappointed with Aquatic and Darjeeling, but feel like Aquatic had more memorable moments. I liked Fox, but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Rushmore and TRT are brilliant. I love them both.
1. RUSHMORE
2. FANTASTIC MR. FOX
3. ROYAL TENENBAUMS
4. BOTTLEROCKET
5. LIFE AQUATIC (but I do love that one)
6. DARJEELING LIMITED
DARJEELING is a terrible, mean spirited movie. I kind of hate it. It feels like Anderson trying to be deep when he doesn’t seem to possess the honesty and life experience to be gritty and deep….if that makes sense. It’s like a 6th grader trying to write a poem about life and true love.
Yeah, I’m with Don on DARJEELING, I’m afraid…only saw it once but remember really, really disliking it to the point of hating it. I have to admit I’m one of those people who thinks RUSHMORE and TENENBAUMS are masterpieces and there is a stunning drop-off after that. Not sure if it’s the Owen Wilson factor or not. In fairness I’ve seen AQUATIC and DARJEELING once and really should give them another shot some time. Who knows, maybe I’ll feel differently.
Did a nice little doubleheader yesterday of HEADHUNTERS and THE SOUND OF MY VOICE. Both very much worth seeing.
I really don’t get the Owen Wilson theory, that somehow Wilson is responsible for Rushmore and Tenenbaums being Anderson’s best films (though I do like them all, and am heartened to see so many of you put Bottle Rocket further down your lists; I feel like it’s a popular pose to say Bottle Rocket is among the best simply because it was first, but as good as it is, it’s his most meandering and probably least touching film). I mean, Wilson had LEAD ROLES in Aquatic and Darjeeling… so it’s not as if he wasn’t collaborating with him at all on those projects. It’s kind of baffling to me that a guy who has worked with Anderson on the majority of his films is some kind of estranged partner whose screenwriting acumen (as demonstrated on, uh, zero other movies?) vastly improved an extremely talented filmmaker. It’s like the people who are convinced that Matt Sharp secretly made the first two Weezer albums the best.
No slight to Owen Wilson, but I don’t buy the “Owen Wilson factor” on those movies being way better.
Ranked:
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. The Life Aquatic
4. The Darjeeling Limited
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. Bottle Rocket
Oh, and Lex, Battleship is fucking awful. I like Berg’s movies in general save Very Bad Things, and this is no Kingdom/Hancock/Rundown.
It fucking boggles my mind any one could have more respect for “Life Aquatic…” than ANY of Anderson’s other films. Talk about meandering with 6th grade affectations of pretense-driven sentimental filmmaking. When that Sigur Ros comes on and people like REALLY love it, I want to go “God Bless America” on everyone.
I think a lot of the offputting parts of Darjeeling Limited can be attributed to the fact that they were trying to make a representation of the xenophobic ignorant american getting used to his surroundings while simoultaneously becoming more ignorant to their presence within them. While I think it contains his most expert filmmaking to date, the third act does come off as tacked-on.
And ‘Bottle Rocket’ is a fucking charm. Personally, I think this is still the best work Owen Wilson has ever done (even better than as Ned or Eli). Dignan and Francis use the Owen Wilson persona a little, but flip that nonchalance on its head where needed. What Dignan’s character extracts from the Owen persona is his ebbulience, which is rendered ironic, if anything, in ‘Tenenbaums,’ and grating and regressive in ‘Limited.’
All in all, I would probably say ‘Rushmore’ has the best structure, whereas ‘Tenenbaums’ is the most charming product of Anderson’s aesthetic tastes (also, the one I can rewatch the most).
Just out of curiosity: what do people think about life aquatic being held in awful regard for many years, now being retrofitted with this ‘cult in the making’ quality, when it was supposed to be his coming out? I mean, I don’t really think it is a movie that gets BETTER from repeat viewings, but perhaps less sentimental, and conseuqntly droller. hm…
I don’t know that Life Aquatic was really held in “awful” regard for many years. There was definitely some backlash against Anderson at the time, following his great success with Tenenbaums, and Aquatic did get pretty mixed reviews. But I recall they were more in the 50-60-percent Tomatometer range, hardly a complete critical blow-off. I really liked it the first time I saw it, opening night in 2004, though it was less hilarious than Tenenbaums; there’s a lot about it that’s funny AND moving that didn’t entirely click for me until I saw it again, even though I really enjoyed it the first time. But I don’t know: most film-nerdy people I know really love it; I feel like I know a couple who even like it the best of that crop. It’s a little rougher, in tone and in some of the actual plot and action sequences and such, than Anderson’s other movies, and I like that about it.
Or maybe people just love it because Jeff Goldblum rules in it?
“Steve, are you here to rescue me? [to captor] I fold.”
I’ve said this before, but Owen Wilson’s Dignan character is one of the most original in American cinema history. That puts BOTTLE ROCKET right up there. This scene sums it up.
And I don’t know what’s “mean-spirited” about ANY of Anderson’s films. The scene where they try to rescue the boys in DARJEELING? And the moment when Wilson takes off his bandages is one of the most moving in his canon, particularly in light of his personal travails the same year.
I was shocked how much I loved LIFE AQUATIC. Murray is playing a very different role here. I think the pirate stuff pulls me out of the film but then by the end, I’m back.
“Or maybe people just love it because Jeff Goldblum rules in it?”
was actually going to write this. ha. i want more goldblum everywhere.
You’re right, it wasn’t a complete blow-off, and now that I think about it, Die-hard Anderson fans seemed to be A LOT more put off by Darjeeling than anything else (as evidenced by some rsopnses here).
To be clear: I love all the Anderson’s, but I gripe with Life Aquatic being called a great FILM, when I feel it just has some jaw-droppingly fun moments that speak to his expertise in that waggish sentimentality I mentioned earlier.
I think Dignan is a much more loveable sad-sack than Zissou though.
“Is this real?”
Thanks for the drama, Glam.
Wow Joe… that was odd.
Cannes remains irrelevant to the US market… even from close up.
Apparently “BattleshipFan” got sunk. Along with my response.
I wouldn’t say I love Wes Anderson as a filmmaker, but I do appreciate that he’s there. I think my problem with him is that his main characters are generally over-priviliged dicks, and when it folds into certain parts of the “real” world, it can really be repellant. That was my problem with The Darjeeling Limited. The trademark Wes Anderson slow-motion walking scene says it all. Normally, it’s fine. Here it’s used in the funeral of the person who died trying to save one of the brothers after they do something profoundly stupid, and using it for the slow walk and flipping the rose on the grave….. my response to the characters there is, “Oh, fuck you, you hipster assholes.” There’s a lot of scenes like that in the movie. The background of India is not the right place for these characters.
But when you have the same kind of dickery, but it’s in Wes Anderson’s whimsical version of 1970’s New York City, it’s suddenly one of my favorite movies ever. I can watch The Royal Tenenbaums whenever and love it every time.
No drama, Dave. Just wishing you worked a little harder on your film reviews.
I thought the sex stuff in DARJEELING was grody and immature (and the characters weren’t that way, it was purely Anderson) and the film as a whole just felt…off. Like it was trying to be honest and raw rather than the kind of coy and obsessed feeling I get from his other films. I saw it once and never really wanted to see it again. Not so (for me) with his other films.
In fact LIFE AQUATIC has really grown on me over the years. I don’t think it’s a great film overall and has too many ups and downs, but I’ve grown to loove it more than I did at first. I also agree about BOTTLEROCKET being fantastic, but it just feels like a completely different film than anything Anderson has done since. It’s almost a different director in fact.
I’d say the “iPhone review” title indicates this might not be DP’s final thoughts on the subject, but a glimpse at them in-progress. And it’s fine, once you get past those first two grafs — which are, at least, labeled as the digression they are.
“I thought the sex stuff in DARJEELING was grody and immature (and the characters weren’t that way, it was purely Anderson)”
HA! I think you might be right… let’s not forget that Roman and Jason were there to spur on immature rapetasias involving sweet lime… I’m kind of kidding here, but her empowerment in her story line is supposed to be empowering, but seems a bit misplaced to me considering the chauvinism and outright misogyny throughout that entire film (just because it’s clever, doesn’t mean it’s not there). I’m sad to say, but Anjelica’s whole character/presence felt pandering and out of place (but like defiant and ironic, like everything gen x is accused of doing). But, like, WHATEVER– I like the colors. And Owen Wilson. And how they’re stereotypes– self absorbed, WASP manipulators, but ones that we all secretly adore and would want to be exactly like if we all lived in another, more fantastic world.
I guess I like Darjeeling for the same reasons I like the whole of Anderson’s oeuvre — but I do recognize that these reasons owed in part to an aesthetic growth in his films. While some say his aesthetic has weakened through repetition, I feel that it is hard to argue that Darjeeling is not a visually sublime experience, and that his growth as a filmmaker has been in creating more aesthetically dazzling projects. But these words ‘sublime’ and ‘dazzling’ belie the fact that Anderson is, in some cases creepily so, an incredibly personal aesthete. he lives and breathes his own kitsch. I personally feel like Darjeeling limited most certainly pokes fun at Anderson’s idiosyncrasies, both personally and as a filmmaker (I mean, isn’t Francis a Anderson proxy? Haven’t they said this of him in an interview somewhere?), but sometimes it feels a little unseemly to have those hypocritical influences embedded in a film. I see everyone’s point about Darjeeling, but simultaneously feel that this is not dissimilar to Life Aquatic (the Big Budget Picture about the budget-stricken motley crew?). The thing that’s different is that The Life Aquatic is a fucking cartoon and is made for children, but seems a little ashamed to admit it. Just like Darjeeling limited is an expensive HBO travel diary masquerading as a european art house take on anderson movies (in fact, I think they pay Woody Allen on a regular basis to do this).
Moonrise Kingdom, perhaps above all, should bring a visually enticing confection with all the typical anderson elements, and hopefully some new tricks. Honestly, for me, that’s fine. I can watch any of his films, even yes, Life Aquatic, my least favorite (which doesn’t say much). Hopefully Moonrise comes together a little better than those others did in the end.
Solid stuff, spassky….although I disagree that LIFE AQUATIC is a kids film. It’s pretty dark/bleak. Not even remotely close to TENENBAUMS, but still.
Wish you could think an inch or two outside of your comfort zone, Glamour.
Try focusing on ideas you so hate to figure out why they are there instead of feeling like you need a thumb up or down to legitimize a review.
I stand by the Mr Ed metaphor 100%.
The best thing about Darjeeling is Adrian Brody. I think the film itself is pretty terrific, but his performance is on another level. One of the most under-appreciated comic turns in recent years.
Yes, agree. Brody surprised me by the being the best thing in the film.
“Cannes remains irrelevant to the US market… even from close up.”
So you’re there because…?
i think life aquatic is excellent. have thought so since the first viewing. it’s a very dense film with a lot of unlikable characters and emotionally needy characters. for some reason it works.
Zissou is the ultimate narcissist. When he finds the jaguar shark and asks “do you think it remembers me?”… kills me every time.
“So you’re there because…?”
What’s French for “hors d’oeuvres”?
Honestly, I can’t remember much about Darjeeling. I do remember Natalie Portman being semi-nude in the short prequel though.
Tenenbaums and Fox are my favorite W.A.
“So you’re there because…?”
Because it’s a unique, memorable experience?
Not if you pretend to be “above it all.”
Dargis described “Moonrise Kingdom” as “wondrously beautiful and hauntingly melancholic.”
Sounds like the perfect description of “Hotel Chevalier” which is probably why it’s my personal favorite of Wes Anderson’s films–even if it’s only 13 minutes long.
What does DP pretend to be above meaning he shouldn’t be attending Cannes?
He’s there to record DP30s, and that’s where the talent is. The iPhone reviews are pretty much his way of doing extended tweets for us hotbloggers.
As for Wes, Joe Straatmann explained my take on Wes better than I could.
I disagree with the view that this is standard Anderson; I think it’s a huge leap in terms of emotional engagement (and I think some of the adults/stars, particularly McDormand, are much more important to the film than DP suggests)
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Moonlight Kingdom
3. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Rushmore
5. Bottle Rocket
christian: little banana, that’s the one
(can’t wait for ‘moonrise kingdom’, but i will)