Posts Tagged ‘New Penzance’

Short Take: Arguably Wes Anderson’s best film

Director: Wes Anderson

Screenwriters: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

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

Length: 1h 34m

Synopsis: One day on the quaint New England island of New Penzance in 1965, two twelve year-old misfits named Suzy (Hayward) and Sam (Gilman) run away together to survive on their own – at least temporarily – in the woods so as to escape their everyday lives. Suzy’s family, headed by loving but detached parents Walt (Murray) and Laura (McDormand), both of whom are lawyers, considers her a problem child and doesn’t know how to handle her outbursts. Sam, concurrently, is an orphan, as his foster parents have just recently relinquished guardianship. While she runs away from home, he runs off during a Khaki Scout summer retreat run by the concerned but confused Scout Master Ward (Norton), and they meet in a secluded field as per their arrangement their letters. Together with Captain Sharp (Willis) of the local police, the parents and scout master form a search party to retrieve the children. It would seem, however, that the youngsters are utterly determined not to go back.

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