Wes Anderson’s latest cinematic escapade takes us to the island of New Penzance, where a fierce storm’s abrewing. Literally, but also in the Bishop household, which has lost it’s oldest and most troubled child, Suzy Bishop, to the New England wild. The troubled 12-year-old (played by Kara Hayward) has eloped with her pen pal, an unpopular boy scout with a penchant for watercolours (Jared Gilman). Suzy’s parents (played to deadpan perfection by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), the town’s local policeman (Bruce Willis), the Khaki Scout Master (Edward Norton) and Child Services (Tilda Swinton) must track the lovers down before the storm devastates the island. The film is set in 1965, an era that perfectly complements Anderson’s colour palette and his affection for out-dated technology and short pants (skip to 2.39 in the video below for Bill Murray’s psychoanalytic take on the trousers issue). Fantastic sets and costumes aside, Moonrise Kingdom plays out like an Enid Blyton book but with extra humour and Bill Murray, proving that Anderson is as stylish and idiosyncratic as ever.
Read our interviews with Wes Anderson and Kara Hayward in Issue 58, on sale 15 August.
Tags: anderson, bill murray, Film, kingdom, moonrise, review, wes
I felt like I was five years old and watching The Little Mermaid all over again. Never have I been so grateful for my eyesight.