Wonderstruck: the dual narrative structure of Todd Haynes’ drama creates a small puzzle, but the way each of the pieces resonate by itself is more important than the way they fit together. It’s a touching, beautiful story, and it builds up somewhat predictably but also very effectively and poetically. Both halves of the film have their own look and grammar, but they are equally well crafted: production design for both periods is rich, detailed, spot-on, and so are the costumes; the excessively clean look is avoided, everything has a lived-in quality to it. Director of photography Edward Lachman captures both periods in very distinctive ways (beyond the color or lack thereof, of course), the black-and-white period being much more dramatic; the golden hues of the color period are beautiful. Carter Burwell’s musical score is diverse, rich, and an important factor in giving the film its pace, well-used by editor Affonso Gonçalves in connecting the two storylines. Acting is very good: Oakes Fegley is convincing as one protagonist, and Millicent Simmonds is extremely expressive as the other one; Julianne Moore is the adult with the most extensive role, and she is very effective in a role without words.