The Swan: Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short story with the same title definitely doesn’t go the way most people would do it. That would be a direct visual representation of the story, probably with a sprinkle of voice-over here and there. Anderson, however, comes from a place of deep appreciation for the written word, so instead he has a narrator read what seems to be the whole short story of a young sensitive boy being bullied by two older, brutish types. He does so with an abstract representation of the action on the screen; the effect actually seems to raise the stakes. Rupert Friend plays the narrator, reading the text with wonderful timing and feeling; Asa Jennings plays the silent hero, and he emotes nicely reacting to the words. Production designer Adam Stockhausen creates a simple look that fits the abstraction intended and cinematographer Roman Coppola (channeling the style used by Robert Yeoman) frames and moves the camera rather nicely.