Sunset – An Epilogue to Moonrise Kingdom

Context: This scene takes place a year after the film Moonrise Kingdom ends.  Here is the plot summary from Wikipedia: 

In 1965, on an idyllic New England island called New Penzance, 12-year-old orphan Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) is attending a “Khaki Scout” summer camp, Camp Ivanhoe, led by Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton). Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward) lives on the island with her attorney parents—Walt (Bill Murray) and Laura (Frances McDormand)—and three younger brothers in a house called Summer’s End. Sam and Suzy met the previous summer during a church performance of Noye’s Fludde and have been pen pals since then. They have made a secret pact to reunite and run away together. Sam brings camping equipment, and Suzy brings six books, her cat, and a record player. They spend several days hiking and camping together in the wilderness with the goal of reaching a secluded cove on the island, which they name Moonrise Kingdom. There they dance on the beach in their underwear and kiss. Suzy’s parents, the police, and the scoutmaster eventually find them at the cove.

Suzy’s parents take her home and forbid her from seeing Sam again. Sam stays with Police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) while they await Social Services (Tilda Swinton), who will place Sam in a “juvenile refuge” because his foster parents no longer wish to house him. The scouts, who previously were not kind to Sam, decide it is their duty to help the young lovers run away again. Suzy, Sam, and the other scouts seek out the help of Cousin Ben (Jason Schwartzman), an older relative of one of the scouts who works at the larger Khaki Scout summer camp, Fort Lebanon, run by Commander Pierce (Harvey Keitel). After many twists and turns, Sam and Suzy are apprehended on a church steeple during a violent hurricane and flash flood. The steeple is destroyed by lightning, but everyone survives.

Sharp decides to become Sam’s legal guardian, saving him from the orphanage and allowing him to remain on the island and maintain contact with Suzy. At Summer’s End, Sam paints a landscape of the cove and then slips out the window as Suzy and her brothers are called to dinner.

 

            “Dear Suzy,” Sam bit his lip.  “To My Dear Suzy,” He scribbled out his clumsy handwriting once more, pausing to chew thoughtfully on the tip of his official Khaki Scout-issued ballpoint pen. 

To My Dearest Lovely Wife Suzy,

It has been exactly one year tomorrow since we went to Moonrise Kingdom and fell in love.  We need another adventure.  What do you think?

Yours truly,

Sam

Sam read through the letter once more.  Satisfied, he folded the stationary and slid it silently across the table.  Suzy tucked her reddish-brown hair behind her ear, shot Sam a curious look, and unfolded the paper.  Sam surveyed her closely through his horn-rimmed glasses.   The line separating the porcelain skin of Suzy’s neck and the crisp, white collar that adorned her red-checkered dress was hardly discernable; she sat in striking contrast to the deep yellow drywall behind her, an Andy Warhol portrait.  Her brows furrowed as she read.  Without glancing up from the letter, Suzy outstretched a hand towards Sam, in which he placed his pen.  She slid the note across the table: Should we tell our parents?  They both looked towards the kitchen, where Suzy’s mother was bustling about.  Suzy took up the letter once more?  When?

Tonight.

            Suzy awoke to the warmth of Sam’s hand in hers.  Soon enough, the pair was navigating through rocks and foliage in pursuit of their beloved cove, the Moonrise Kingdom.  “I brought new books,” Suzy declared, pushing a low-hanging tree branch out of her eyes.  “I can’t wait for you to read them to me.” Sam smiled.  They trekked silently for a while, their journey lit dreamily by the moon and stars.  The crunch of leaves under Sam’s boots and the soft trickle of a nearby stream were the only distinguishable sounds.  The air was rich with the scent of pine and soil.  Any other inhabitants of New Penzance ceased to exist; Sam and Suzy were the only two souls alive, two individuals connected by a mutual strangeness that rendered them perfectly suited for the peculiar nature of their adventures.  The forest was their playground, the moon and trees their caretakers.  Their youth was unfettered by concern for the past or future; they possessed only an innate curiosity and a simple joy of being.  As well as, of course, a deep loyalty and appreciation for each other.

            “Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Asked Suzy.  “Positive.”  Replied Sam.  The forest was beginning to thin.  “We should set up camp soon, it’s getting late.”  Sam smiled as they turned sharply into a clearing.  The meadow, alight with orange poppies and awash with moonlight, was an oasis in the center of the dark forest.  In front of the pair stood a flawlessly-set-up tent with a small circular table inside, adorned with a thin silver tablecloth.  On it burned a single candle which shone upon two empty plates.  Sam checked his watch.  It was exactly midnight.

            Suzy turned towards Sam as he pressed her hand.  She unfolded the slip of paper that was balled up inside it.  “Happy Anniversary!” Suzy, a sad girl who seldom smiled, felt a large grin invigorate her lips.  She wrapped Sam in a hug while he began to unpack the food he brought and the pair settled down to dinner.