‘Moonrise Kingdom’ Video Essay Reveals the Connection Between Story and Style — Watch
In the latest episode of Lessons from the Screenplay, “Moonrise Kingdom” is analyzed for the way its story matches the well-known style of director Wes Anderson. Instead of reviewing the visual aspects of his style, however, the video breaks down how the details in the screenplay create the vivid island world.
“We all know what a Wes Anderson film looks like, but what does a Wes Anderson screenplay look like?” This opening question marks the first part of the video, which notes the meticulous details in the screenplay for “Moonrise Kingdom” and how these details impact the audience’s perceptions of the world of the film. All these little details add up to make the film feel more real, which also supposes that the character’s actions have similarly real repercussions.
The video goes on to address how the dialogue both breaks from traditional filmmaking and supports the film’s overall style. The direct, affectless nature of the dialogue forces viewers to make their own decisions about the characters’ emotional states. This kind of frankness “mimics the earnestness of childhood,” while at the same time imitating “the emotional barriers we construct in adulthood,” leaving the protagonists to navigate between both extremes.
Check out the full video below.
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