Saturday, July 7, 2012

Moonrise Kingdom

I always want to like Wes Anderson's films.  And there are often aspects that I appreciate.  The humor is dry, the mis-en-scene is lovingly detailed.  But those aspects are also part of the problem.  The films are often crafted into oblivion and the detached tone of the films can turn stale.  You almost root for someone to flub a line or break character.  One positive is the performances he elicits.  Here Bruce Willis plays nicely against type as a weak-kneed policeman and Edward Norton does a nice turn as  Boy Scout leader.  There are funny, absurdist moments, but I  ended up exhausted by the effort of trying to like a film that's overdetermined.  It's a whimsical film without whimsy.