enjoyable but ultimately overdoses on quirkiness

Rating: 6/10 (30 March 2013)

Highly original in both concept and style -as is customary with a Wes Anderson production - "Moonrise Kingdom" nevertheless proves that, even in the most skillful of hands, a little quirkiness can go a long way.
Set in 1965, this surrealistic indie comedy focuses on two misfit children - one a twelve-year-old orphan and the other the daughter of two whacked-out parents - who run off to a remote New England island so they can live in isolation with one another, right as a hurricane is about to hit the area.
The talented Jared Gilman and Kara Haywood play the two social outcasts, while the adults are portrayed by Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman and Harvey Keitel as an assortment of parents, troop leaders, detectives and social services officials. The irony is that most of the adults turn out to be even more bizarre and dysfunctional than the children who've run away because they just don't fit in.
Co-written by Roman Coppola and Wes Anderson and directed by Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom" is overflowing with wit, striking imagery and on-the- mark deadpan performances. But the archness does get to be a bit much at times, and the atonal, emotionless line readings eventually take their toll on the audience.
It's a clever and likable enough little trifle that, even at a relatively brief 94-minute running time, winds up overstaying its welcome. But the critics sure seem to love it.