Asteroid City opens with a black and white vignette of a tv show that goes over the background and events of a stage play bearing the film’s name. It’s through this opening that Bryan Cranston leads the audience in to tell the film’s unique story, written in-fiction by Edward Norton‘s Conrad Earp, and written in real life by none other than Wes Anderson, who also directed and produced. Anderson certainly takes his eccentric style of filmmaking that he’s been known for and dial it up to 11. Asteroid City showcases the best in Anderson’s visual style, but lacks the bite some of his other stories are known for, like The Grand Budapest Hotel or Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The film follows the production and visual representation of the titular Asteroid City, a stage play following the supernatural circumstances surrounding the Junior Stargazer’s convention that takes place in a fictional desert town that bears the same name as the film. Featuring an ensemble cast, as is standard with Anderson flicks, that includes Jason Schwartzman as war photographer Augie Steenbeck, Tom Hanks as Steenbeck’s father-in-law, and Scarlett Johansson as actress Midge Campbell, the film relies heavily on the balance of performances by the vast cast of characters and how they mix with Anderson’s visual style.
I particularly want to point out the performances of Jake Ryan, who plays Woodrow Steenbeck, Maya Hawke as School Teacher June, Jeffrey Wright as General Gibson, and Margot Robbie as the wife/actress. Each had varying roles in the film (with Robbie only appearing in one scene), but each had a tremendous effect on the film and were captivating when they were on screen.
Now, I will be the first to say that I am not the biggest fan of Anderson’s films. His style is uniquely his own, and relies heavily on bright, vibrant visuals, clean cut mise en scene, and symmetrical camera work. It’s a completely different type of filmmaking that differs heavily from the “norm”, and as such can alienate certain audiences.
In fact, in my showing, I saw one couple get up to leave, and when I was exiting, I heard a couple say this was “one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen”. This doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy his films, but I also won’t be the first in line to defend any Anderson film from the myriad people who don’t like it. In this case, Anderson dialed everything he is known for up to its peak, and it worked incredibly well. It truly was really fun to look at, and I found myself in awe of a few shots throughout the film.
That said, I did actually find quite a bit of enjoyment from Asteroid City. I found that all of the performances across the board were delightful, and the writing was rather witty, even if it was delivered in Anderson’s signature style, which I will again say is totally unique. I was most impressed with how well the film used silence to move a scene forward, and the stretches without dialogue within scenes were really great. Each character had moments that fleshed out the world they occupied and gave a different personality to each one, which I enjoyed. It seemed everyone bought in to what Anderson wanted to accomplish, and with such a star-studded cast, that was incredibly important.
Where the film faltered for me was really in its story. I kept waiting for something to happen, and even when something did i.e., the paranormal event, it just seemed like it was so unimportant and that the big reason for the film was coming. Instead, I felt like I never got that, and by the end I was asking myself what the point of the film really was. It made it difficult at times to keep invested. It made me wish that Anderson had taken the time to flesh out more of a conflict or story. His last film, The French Dispatch, felt similar in style to Asteroid City, yet I felt so much more connected to that film because it had a story that really meant something to drive forward what we saw on screen.
I did, however, very much enjoy the moments outside of the titular play, where we see the background behind the fictional cast and crew. These scenes were actually pretty captivating, and it was really cool to see the mix between the actual dramatic story and the “making of” documentary style.
Final Thoughts
Asteroid City provides audiences with a classic Wes Anderson experience. Gorgeous visuals and interesting characters are sure to get you hooked. The acting is really great, and each character is given moments to shine through witty dialogue and fun scenes. Yet, the story just felt like it wasn’t all there many times. The concept is interesting, but it seemed to me that more time was needed to really flesh out something meaningful. Maybe I just don’t connect well with Anderson flicks, but some people may. That said, I still enjoyed my time watching the film, and I recommend seeing it for the truly unique Wes Anderson style.
3/5
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I have been watching movies my whole life and fell in love at an early age. I was entranced by the ability for a film to whisk me away to a different universe, and that really started with the Star Wars Franchise. I'm by no means an expert and can roll with opinions that might be controversial, but that's the beauty of a film; we can all see the same thing on screen, but each of us may come away with a different interpretation of what we saw. When I'm not watching movies, I work in Marketing with my degree from Western New England University.
MY FAVORITE MOVIES: Good Will Hunting, Star Wars: A New Hope (or the whole saga), All The President's Men, Before Sunrise, Ocean's 11, In The Mood For Love and so many more...