Crisp Criticism - "Moonrise Kingdom", "Hope Springs", "Holy Motors"

Moonrise Kingdom (2012/US)   ***

In 1965, on an idyllic New England island, an unpopular boy at a Scout summer camp and the disgruntled young daughter of attorney parents run away together.
One of its director's best films: in his typical and deliberate artificial aesthetic, he accomplishes here an affectionate and sincere human connection both with his characters and his audience. Painstakingly detailed, exquisitely designed and consummately endearingly.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – Adam Stockhausen

m – Alexandre Desplat

ed – Andrew Weisblum

cos – Kasia Walicka-Maimone

p – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Jeremy Dawson, Steven M. Rales

Cast: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban

Hope Springs (2012/US)   **

The woman of a couple, who have been married for thirty-one years, feels that their marriage is at a crisis and seeks couples therapy.

Tender and respectful depiction of a characteristic 30-year marriage that convinces for the most part. It owes a lot to its lead performances.

d – David Frankel

w – Vanessa Taylor

ph – Florian Ballhaus

pd – Stuart Wurtzel

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Matt Maddox, Steven Weisberg

cos – Ann Roth

p – Todd Black, Guymon Casady

Cast: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Elisabeth Shue, Jean Smart, Ben Rappaport, Marin Ireland, Mimi Rogers, Becky Ann Baker

Holy Motors (2012/France)   ***

A man travels between multiple parallel lives as he driven through Paris in a limousine.

A weird and wonderful film; it encapsulates almost all of cinema’s imaginative storytelling devices and conveys them through one man, whose heart aches as much as the cinema’s. It is delightful in its stylistic gameplay, cunning in its emotive power and never ceases to surprise with each succeeding scene.

wd – Leos Carax

ph – Caroline Champetier

pd – Florian Sanson

ed – Nelly Quettier

cos – Anais Romand

p – Martine Marignac, Albert Prevost, Maurice Tinchant

Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Kylie Minogue, Eva Mendes, Michel Piccoli, Elisa L’Homeau, Jeanne Disson