OVP: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Film: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Stars: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bob Balaban
Director: Wes Anderson
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Original Screenplay)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

The films of Wes Anderson always toe a fine line between magic and twee-perhaps they're one in the same.  I will admit to not always falling under his spell-sometimes the films fall into the category of too-in-love-with-itself, other times it seems as if we are being introduced to yet another strange character for the sake of meeting another strange character, and not because it is advancing the story in any beneficial way.  However, I will admit that, on occasion, the writer/director can manage to bring to life the surreal, the whimsical, and thankfully, Moonrise Kingdom seems to be one of those occasions.

(Spoilers throughout) The film tells the tale of many characters, but primarily Sam (Gilman) and Suzy (Hayward), two youths who are eccentric, and occasionally, a bit violent (particularly Suzy).  After fatefully meeting at a play, they become pen pals and write letters, eventually planning to run away together.  Suzy's parents (Murray and McDormand) don't seem to know how to handle her, and so she wants to flee, whereas Sam's foster parents find him to be a constant struggle, and he doesn't fit in with his Khaki Scouts, despite the best efforts of his Scout Master (Norton).

And so they set off across the island where they live (they never state exactly where it is, but I got the sense that it was Maine, considering the lovely scenery and island villages), two non-judgmental soulmates, Sam armed with an impressive set of wilderness skills and a propensity for saying what is precisely on his mind, and Suzy with a wild streak and a suitcase full of young adult fantasy literature (with primarily female protagonists, something that Wes Anderson doesn't know much about, since he always seems to put a male figure front-and-center in his films).  Along the way, they are chased by Suzy's parents, Sam's scout troop, and a totally game Bruce Willis as a dim but lovable lug of a police officer, and in the process, realize that they are in love with each other.

The film progresses to an increasingly madcap series of stunts after they are initially caught.  The best part of the movie is most definitely the first half, when they are still discovering exactly why they're running away, and there's more intrigue about what's in store for them.  Once they are discovered the first time, the film gets increasingly far-fetched, with an army of boy scouts trying to outrun Sam at one point, just to have Sam suddenly be struck by lightning (and yet bounce back as if nothing had happened).  The film also tries to sort out some of its loose ends, with much less success than the primary story line-I had trouble caring about Murray and McDormand's marital troubles (or the affair McDormand was having with Willis as a result), since those were the only things that defined the characters, aside from the bevy of quirks that Anderson throws down the respective characters' throats.  One highlight of the film's second half would have to be Swinton's Social Services (every time they called her that, or she called herself that, I laughed as I realized that was going to be the only name the character got).  Swinton, always a firecracker performer, sinks her teeth into the world of Wes Anderson with virtuosity, spouting off her lines with a distinct matter-of-factness and dressed like she's channeling Maggie Smith's Jean Brodie.

As the film progresses, you become more invested in both Sam-and-Suzy, and the world that they are exploring (seriously, who didn't want to go camping after seeing that gorgeous island?), and though about 45 minutes in it becomes obvious that they will in fact succeed in ending up together, you still can't help but smile when the final scene arrives, Sam dressed like his new foster father, and the two of them still sneaking around, cleverly alluding to the title, a joke you almost certainly guessed but are still glad to see acknowledged.  You know the story will go on for these two, and that their bizarrely wonderful children will hear these stories for years to come.