Moonrise Kingdom

Directed by Wes Anderson

(PG-13)

***

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Wes Anderson’s latest is “a literate, knowing, and sweet-hearted reverie about adolescence,” said Peter Howell in the Toronto Star. Set on a small New England island in 1965, it follows two 12-year-olds—a bespectacled “Khaki Scout” and a bookish girl—who run away to be together and send the island’s adults into a panic. Though Anderson’s films (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) always adopt a child-like view of the world, never has he been so in touch with “his inner rebel kid.” The highly stylized world Anderson has once again created won’t charm everyone, said David Edelstein in New York magazine. This movie is a showcase for its cinematographer and set designer, “not so much” for the tightly reined-in all-star cast, which includes Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, and Bill Murray. Still, the love story cuts through “the smug eccentricity” of Anderson’s mise-en-scène, said Peter Debruge in Variety. True, opposite dweeby Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward’s Suzy seems “already a swan.” But Anderson has captured something special: “that momentous instant” when “a naïve crush can feel all-consuming.”