Heavy hitters include the brilliant Edward Norton (for once watching his language and holding his temper) as an anal but dedicated troop leader, Bill Murray who in stark contrast to the young stars in this film, fails to find any joy whatsoever in his work in the law profession, wealth, family or beautiful surroundings. His dissatisfied wife (Frances McDormand who was the psychiatrist in Norton's first film Primal Fear), is also an attorney (the lawyer banter are some of the funniest lines in the film). Bruce Willis (who plays very well with child stars as he has a bit of child still left in him) is the bachelor, island cop who goes head-to-head with the chilling Tilda Swinton (white witch from Narnia) known only as "Social Services," as she callously plans to put "the boy" in juvenile refuge to undergo shock therapy as needed.
Despite the exceptionally strong adult cast, the two main child stars Sam and Suzy not only keep pace, but outshine the grownups with their unfailing loyalty and unconditional love for each other, both express an unthinking complete giving of themselves to one other. The film captures beautifully in the persons of these two intriguing social outcasts the experience of moving from being trapped in isolation into discovering and developing a union with another. I love how the two of them are so adult and wise in one way and still very much children, with childlike reasoning and priorities, e.g., Suzy runs away and packs a suitcase full of books and her kitten but not a change of clothes.
The cast is rounded out by a boyscout troop with scouts having inappropriately derogatory names as we did in my youth - such as lazy eye for the boy with the eyepatch. Also true to life was how dangerous and unsupervised our childhoods were then. Seeing the boy jump from two story height onto a trampoline without a surrounding net or a single spotter in sight, for example, really brought me back. And interactions with our parents really were pretty much restricted to being called to the table for dinner. I loved seeing Suzy's little brothers (Irish triplets) while away the time with all of the board and other none electronic games, fueled by a couple of dice or imagination.
Wes Anderson spins a simple, sweet story - yet the viewer never knows exactly where it is headed. Throughout, the film is subtly hilarious. In trademark Anderson fashion, the lines are delivered in an almost deadpan way with all the characters completely oblivious to the irony and ridiculousness of the situation, dialog, and even their lives and themselves. I highly recommend purchasing this movie; it's one you'll want to watch again and again and share with other people. I've already seen it four times and it hasn't even opened in theaters in my state, yet.
Verdict: 80/100
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