A rock flies through an open car window, killing the driver and creating a heart-aching domino effect of murder and mayhem in William Boyle's epic murder mystery Shoot the Moonlight Out.
In July 1996, in south Brooklyn, N.Y., teenaged punks Bobby and Zeke amuse themselves by throwing rocks at cars exiting an off-ramp. One rock kills a promising young writer named Amelia. The boys vow to never speak about the incident. Five years pass and Jack, Amelia's father, tries to process his grief by taking a writing class. Lily, the teacher of Jack's class, reminds Jack of Amelia. Lily is fatherless; Jack is daughterless. They strike up a friendship. Lily tells Jack about Micah, her ex-boyfriend stalker. Jack listens. Micah ends up dead.
Meanwhile, the aimless, guilt-ridden Bobby takes a job with Max, a Ponzi schemer who occasionally holds onto bags (filled with money or drugs or both) for leg-breaker and crime boss wannabe Charlie French. Bobby meets Francesca when Max brings Bobby along to visit a potential client. Love sparks fly and the penniless young lovers plot an escape from south Brooklyn. These characters collide in an operatic crescendo of violence and death that might be the only possible outcome for any of them.
All the damaged characters inhabiting Shoot the Moonlight Out would benefit from a visit with a trauma counselor. Instead, Boyle (City of Margins; The Lonely Witness) lets his wrecked individuals experience unexpected kindness in a bleak world to encourage their humanity. This effect is akin to witnessing the beauty of a flower growing through a crack of a neglected sidewalk. Bravo to William Boyle. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer