Wes Anderson's ever straddling of genius fimmaking and twee dioramatic storytelling continues

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2012)

MOONRISE KINGDOM (2012) *** Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban, Jason Schwartzman. Wes Anderson's ever straddling of genius filmmaking and twee dioramatic storytelling continues in this funny and light-hearted boy-meets-girl comedy about a precocious adolescent romance between a scout (Gilman) and a paramour in the lovely form of a misunderstood girl (Hayward) who embark on a secret rendezvous only to be thwarted by ever-vigilant scoutmaster Norton (having fun at being a by-the-book nebbish); local law enforcement (melancholic Willis); the girls' miserable parents (Murray and McDormand) and the hands of fate. Deadpanned to a dire degree with its deliveries of sharp, smart and funny dialogue courtesy of Anderson and frequent collaborator Roman Coppola with its cute-as-homemade-shoes approach to a 1965 cameo of a timeless puppy love affair.