Moonrise Kingdom

Set in 1965, Jared Gilman stars as Sam - a troubled 12-year old boy, ostracized by his peers, feeling unwanted anywhere in the world, and considered kind of strange, who decides to go AWOL from his summer scout camp. Scout Master Ward (Ed Norton) gathers the troop and contacts the local police force, Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), to enact a full search for the kid, but everything gets a bit complicated when another troubled 12-year old, Suzy (Kara Hayward), also disappears, and her parents, Walt (Bill Murray) and Laura (Frances McDormand), realize she may have run off with Sam.

As everyone searches this small island for Sam and Suzy, can they find the two before a massive storm hits?

From writer/director Wes Anderson and co-writer Roman Coppola, movie fans familiar with Anderson's work know exactly what they are getting in Moonrise Kingdom. The man behind The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums and Darjeeling Limited has a very distinct style that haters wish to see banished to the furthest reaches of Siberia, while fans cheer and laugh all the way through the dry, sometimes ironic, biting and shockingly outrageous twists and turns we witness on screen. Put me in the cheering category.

Everything in Moonrise Kingdom has a style, an attitude, a sound or a visual that uniquely puts us in this crazy, not quite real world. Most of all, it is the visuals that stun. The opening scene, as Anderson wanders around the lighthouse where Suzy's family lives, gives us all sorts of insight into their lives, interactions, non-interactions and attitudes, while also stimulating our eyes.

Plus, I love the structure and tone. In between all of the dourness, we get plenty of explanation how Suzy and Sam get to know each other and relevant details to explain what each kid is going through. As Moonrise Kingdom progresses, the audience gets to laugh, but realizes the underlying sadness and impending doom in each scene. Even more shocking, Anderson and Coppola add an unforeseen, but welcome strange sweetness to the proceedings.

Unfortunately, I wish we had more about the adults. Coppola and Anderson gloss over some of the big stories, leaving them unexplained, which would have added more depth to the movie, especially as the last act feels slightly anti-climactic and repetitive.

Yet, Hayward outshines every adult and kid in Moonrise Kingdom. Her screen presence and mix of precociousness and vulnerability reminds me of a young Christina Ricci when she broke through with The Adams Family or Tatum O'Neal in The Bad News Bears. She is the star of the movie and the character everyone is captivated by because of the intensity she brings, then tempers with apprehension and fear.

Moonrise Kingdom is another great film from Anderson, and the beginning of a fantastic career for Hayward.

Moonrise Kingdom is rated PG-13 for sexual content and smoking.