Quirky with wry, snappy dialogue packed with stars of screen, Moonrise Kingdom is an archetypal Wes Anderson feature but with an added emotional element.
Living on a North Atlantic island, two awkward 12 year-olds decide to elope and head into the remote wetlands. Sam (Jared Gilman) is an orphan and khaki scout, Suzy (Kara Hayward) the only daughter of odd parents. When the pair are discovered to be missing, Police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) with Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton) organise a search party. Only once found, they disappear again on the eve of a dramatic hurricane. As parents Bill Murray and Frances McDormand regale Willis to find their daughter, so Social Services (Tilda Swinton) flies in from Boston and Scout Commander Pierce (Harvey Keitel) mobilises his boys.
Stylish in its 1960s setting, oozing charm, Moonrise Kingdom radiates deadpan fun with more than a few recognisable faces among the scouts (including Lucas Hedges).
Nominated for best original script Oscar in 2013
Rating: 70%
Director: Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Writer: Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel), Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited, CQ)
Main cast: Jared Gilman (Angry Neighbours, Paterson), Kara Hayward (Us, TV’s The Shadow Diaries), Bruce Willis (Motherless Brooklyn, Pulp Fiction)
An Opinion or Two 