Moonrise Kingdom

Director Wes Anderson
2012
RT score: 94%
My score 10/10

The following is a list of films I have never seen (and likely never will) because they won the Academy Award for best picture and I will never be able to watch them without spending the entire time believing another film should have won;
Dances with Wolves (Goodfellas should have won)
The English Patient (Fargo should have won)
Shakespeare in Love (Truman Show should have won)
I saw Gladiator but can't watch it because it had no business beating Almost Famous
The Artist (I would have liked for Hugo to win, but lets face it, 2011 was a terrible year for movies)

With that in mind we come to Moonrise Kingdom. I suppose if Django wins this will be a non-issue as I wouldn't miss a QT film, but lets say for a second Argo, which is already being pushed as an early favorite wins best picture. The odds are I'll never see it then. My wife saw it and loved it and I would really like to see but there is no way I will ever be able to sit down and be convinced Argo or any other movie released in 2012 will be better than Moonrise Kingdom.
I would probably be asking for too much to suggest that everybody, everywhere should love and appreciate Wes Anderson as much as I do. I believe Royal Tenenbaums was the 2nd best movie of the past decade, but even with the brilliance that is Tenenbaums I can recognize a certain level of inaccessibility that exists with a film that centers a character like Royal that is so perfectly flawed and a family that is delightfully dysfunctional. And as you work your way through Anderson's other works it's easy to recognize the quirks that may turn an average audience off.
But with Moonrise Kingdom I refuse to accept that any of these quirks should be enough of a reason for even your average Meet the Fockers/Transformers mouth breathing movie audience to be turned off. The film is simply too good.
Of course, the beauty of it all for a Wes Anderson fan is that none of his trademark quirks are sacrificed in the name of reaching a broader audience. From is color schemes and clothing designs to his dialogue that is frequently direct in a way that you don't see in daily life, Moonrise Kingdom should challenge every fan to reconsider what their favorite Wes Anderson film is.
Perhaps the defining difference in the film is it's heart. Not to say that Anderson's other films didn't have heart, but where those films featured a more hardened heart this one wears it's heart on it's sleeve. The film follows the budding romance of two adolescents, each of whom has their own social and family issues. The two kids in these roles are fantastic as they simultaneously appear to be very distant towards those around them but have a vulnerability that makes it impossible to not fall in love with them.
Supporting and also occasionally standing in the way of these two kids is another outstanding Wes Anderson supporting cast. Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and the king himself, Bill Murray all provide great performances. Norton and Willis in particular stand out as they rise above the one-dimensional 'grown up who comically screws everything up' character to be much more than just comic relief. They are integral to the heart of this story because we see them change as we learn more about Sam and Suzy.
In checking off my Wes Anderson trademarks, perhaps the most important one is the fact that this film only gets better on repeat viewings. So many of Wes Anderson's best lines are missed upon initially viewing and watching this film again only added to the depth and brilliance of the humor in the film. In an era where the Academy can nominate up 10 films for best picture I fully expect to see Wes Anderson get his first best picture nomination and if by some chance this film doesn't win, I'll like be in the position of skipping another film that's probably pretty good but will never over some the stigma of 'how is this film better than Moonrise Kingdom.'