Vision is a difficult thing to define, but there's no doubt that Wes Anderson has it. His movies are all different but somehow the same; the best way of describing the similarity is maybe to say that it's in their tone. I didn't fully get him at first (my first pass was The Royal Tenenbaums, and while I liked it well enough, I think it kind of puzzled me too), but I've completely taken him to heart by now.
And so it seems to make a kind of sense to say that Moonrise Kingdom might be the most 'Wes Anderson' of Anderson's films; it's also, one suspects, one of the most successful in terms of translating the director's internal, personal vision to screen. Either way, it's a delightful film, nostalgic, arch, knowing and fantastic, yes, but completely believable - in the ways that matter, that is - at the same time. Also, it makes perfect use of Francoise Hardy's lovely "Le temps de l'amour", something joyful in the moment and only later, on reflection, also a little melancholy.
And so it seems to make a kind of sense to say that Moonrise Kingdom might be the most 'Wes Anderson' of Anderson's films; it's also, one suspects, one of the most successful in terms of translating the director's internal, personal vision to screen. Either way, it's a delightful film, nostalgic, arch, knowing and fantastic, yes, but completely believable - in the ways that matter, that is - at the same time. Also, it makes perfect use of Francoise Hardy's lovely "Le temps de l'amour", something joyful in the moment and only later, on reflection, also a little melancholy.
