Quartile rating: 8.5/10 · 2 ratings
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.
Moonrise Kingdom is quintessential Wes Anderson — meticulously symmetrical compositions, a pastel-drenched palette, and a deadpan whimsy that is utterly unmistakable. The cinematography is genuinely exceptional, with Robert Yeoman's flat, storybook framing elevating every shot into something painterly. Novelty is high because the film's voice — its mix of childhood sincerity and ironic adult detachment, its theatrical staging, its needle-drop soundtrack — is one-of-a-kind even within Anderson's own filmography. The plot is charming but slight, a fairy-tale structure that prioritizes mood over narrative complexity, landing it at above-average rather than exceptional. Acting is warm and effective — Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward are perfectly cast oddities, and the adult ensemble (Murray, Norton, McDormand, Willis) commits fully to the deadpan register — but no single performance is transcendent. The ending resolves things neatly if somewhat conveniently, satisfying emotionally without surprising.