Review of Moonrise Kingdom (2012) by Ana B — 12 Mar 2014

Strange comedy set in an island of New England in 1965. The whole action takes place in the space of few days and it tells us the story of a very unconventional couple, they both 12 and they don't seem to fit into the landscape. Sam is a shy orphan that belongs to the local scouts but is ignored by his peers plus he is in trouble with his foster family. Suzy is an extremely serious girl, very introverted and to makes things worse she knows her mum is having an affair with the local police officer, which makes her even more secluded. Fed up of their seemingly pointless life they decided to take off and disappear, however the island is small and there aren't so many places to hide. Their escape triggers a chain of events that involves the whole of the Boy Scouts of the island, the family of the girl, the police, social services, the local historian and their small town, just at the time of strong storm, a kind of metaphor, for their own feelings.

It is a clever movie, truly original in its conception, a mix of Bonnie and Clyde and non sense theatre. I did enjoy the sharp sense of humour, the extremely long shots and the over dramatic dialogues. A fresh story that was fun and artistic at the same time. A difficult balance that is not easy to achieve without being pretentious. Despite the bizarre camera zoom outs and the peculiarities of the characters the script never feels unbelievable however there is definite touch of magic and a nostalgic approach to puberty and first love.