Moonrise Kingdom Essay

Words: 496
Pages: 2

Moonrise kingdom directed by Wes Anderson explores an unusual romantic comedy set in New England 1965 as two young protagonists, Sam and Suzy fall in love and run away together. The film was recognised for it’s unique cinematic quality and is claimed as “a portrait of young love,” (McCarthy 58, 2012.) Thus resulting in it receiving a Gotham Award for best independent film as well as 36 other awards and 118 nominations including the Academy Awards and Golden Globes (Moonrise Kingdom, 2012.)
The selected scene of the protagonists confessing their love and dancing together is well known for its use of simple static cinematography and long period time shots. Kunze (2014) discusses the film as uniquely capturing an emotional movement of love through
…show more content…
The beach scene is foggy and bleak atypical to traditional romantic comedies and emphasises a mood of nostalgia and nervousness as the two young characters step out of their comfort zones and place themselves in an ‘adult’ situation. The grey tones of the mountains behind the shot act to frame the scene and also reflect the audience's reaction as they witness two adolescent runaways share an intimate moment.
Sound plays a critical role in this particular scene. The vinyl player prop suggests the time frame in which the movie is placed and the French music ‘La Temp de l’Amour’ enhances the romantic setting. It is important to note the wave sound effect in the background as it intensifies in sync with the characters nerves and ‘daring’ activity.
The costuming present in the mis en scene contributes another layer of effect when conveying meaning to the audience. A notion of the children trying to act like independent adults after running away is evident through the oversized underwear on Suzy and the oversized business shirt on Sam. The close ups reveal heavy blue eye shadow to the audience to further highlight this ‘forced’ adult characteristic. This is then juxtaposed with the daisy chains in both characters hair to illustrate the facade both are presenting. The movie genre is reinforced as the costuming suggests the failure to achieve their goal of independence and