Kara Hayward

In Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Kara Hayward's Suzy Bishop does not always seem sure how to speak to Sam, played by Jared Gilman. There is hesitation in their exchanges, but no doubt that the feelings matter to them. We were moved by the seriousness with which they treat each other, because neither actor turns youthful awkwardness into a reason to dismiss the romance. Hayward makes Suzy convincing without making her precocious. It is a strong performance in a film whose elaborate staging sometimes gets in its way.

Wes Anderson's exact arrangements could easily make the children seem as carefully positioned as everything around them. Hayward and Gilman give their conversations enough uncertainty to prevent that. The comedy depends on our seeing their youth without assuming that the adults know better. Hayward keeps that distinction clear: Suzy's belief that leaving might solve things is recognisably young, yet it is not played as foolish. The reservation is with Anderson's busier second half, which pushes the couple aside just when their company is what we want.

Her debut gave her a lead; the subsequent parts have varied in size and form. She played Silvie McGann in Manchester by the Sea (2016), then returned to work with Anderson as the voice of Peppermint in Isle of Dogs (2018). To the Stars (2019) gave her another lead, Iris Deerborne, and scope for quiet changes of feeling. These credits offer reasons to look beyond Suzy, though a different kind of part is not, by itself, evidence of better acting.

There is no need to treat the debut as something she must escape. The part is demanding in ways that are easy to overlook: she has to make Suzy's hope believable while leaving enough uncertainty for the comedy. Bigger emotions would not necessarily help, and neither would a knowing wink at the audience. Start with Moonrise Kingdom, and be patient when Anderson's elaborate plotting takes over.