(spoiler free)
The world has gone mad for Wes Anderson, or at least TikTok has. Yes, you would have had to been living under a rock to have missed the recent social media trend in which users imitate the popular auteur’s trademark style. Some have been better than others, but in an interview with The Daily Beast the director admitted he’s actually not seen any. Nevertheless, and as is the case with most trends, what started as harmless, whimsical fun has quickly become tiresome and repetitious. Ironically, of late the very same has been said about the director’s own work. Arriving just in time to contest these claims then is Anderson’s latest film, Asteroid City.
Set in a remote desert town of the same name, Asteroid City follows a grieving father and war photographer, Augie (Jason Schwartzman) as he attends a stargazing convention in which his intellectually-gifted son, Woodrow (Jake Ryan) is being honoured. While there, the town is visited by a UFO causing a quarantine and somewhat of an existential crisis for its residents and visitors.
However, it’s not just quite as simple as this, as before the extraterrestrial antics of this colourful western town begin, audiences are greeted by a television host (Bryan Cranston) and a black-and-white broadcast. It quickly becomes clear that this is a metatextual film, and it’s revealed that Asteroid City is actually a televised play. Cranston’s character gives us a look at the creation of the play, whilst we also see glimpses behind-the-scenes when the actors venture backstage. Otherwise when the action returns to colour, audiences are seeing the play itself in progress. It sounds confusing, but Anderson weaves this trifecta of storytelling together with considerable ease and without disruption.
As has become the norm for Anderson, he’s assembled an enormous star-studded cast to tell this ambitious tale. Alongside the aforementioned names, Asteroid City features many of the director’s regular collaborators such as Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton. The film also sees him working with some names for the first time with the likes of Steve Carrell, Maya Hawke and Tom Hanks also appearing. But this only scratches the surface of his ensemble here. However, his lack of restraint for character volume may have finally come back to bite him.
As expected Asteroid City features some wonderful character work. Johansson as actor Midge Campbell is a particular delight. As she interacts with the other residents of the town and its visitors (especially Schwartzmann’s Augie), her experiments with method-acting become both amusement for the audience and a satire on the prevalence of the technique supposedly utilised by many actors today. Another highlight is Carrell’s motel manager, who succeeds in breaking free from the more rigid and cold line readings reserved for most of Anderson’s characters. His comical performance will leave audiences yearning for him to appear in far many more scenes than he does. However, the likes of Hong Chau, Stephen Park, and particularly Jeff Goldblum are the real blink-and-you’ll-miss-it castings here. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of fun to be had with such a range of characters. Anderson has created his very own multiverse of whimsy, inhabited by an impressive roster of A-list actors who he can rely on to appear for mere moments in just one scene. Yet, with so many characters to juggle it can leave the narrative feeling a little unfocused and somewhat scattered.
As Augie reflects on possible impending doom and the actor portraying him in the play searches for the meaning behind many of his character’s actions, audiences may too ponder what the real meaning of Asteroid City is. The constant shift between the countless characters and the various layers of the film, whilst easy to follow in terms of plot, can distract from the overall narrative. It certainly doesn’t connect as quickly as some of the director’s most popular work such as Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) or The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). With so much to take in Asteroid City will no doubt benefit from repeat viewings in order to appreciate all of the director’s nuance and intention.
Rewatching a film such as this will certainly be no chore though. Anderson truly is a master of his craft, and has once more delivered a meticulously-constructed film with an abundance of beauty to behold. His exquisite production design, cinematography and editing give Asteroid City its sense of fun just as much, if not more than the moments of humour in his screenplay do. And of course long-term collaborator Alexandre Desplat provides yet another superb score full of eccentricities to enjoy, even if it is criminally underused.
With that in mind, there’s a strong argument to be made that this is Anderson’s best-looking film yet. But subsequently the director has left the film (and himself) as wide open as Asteroid City’s famous crater for criticisms of “style over substance.” Maybe it’s the overexposure, of which that TikTok trend is largely responsible for, but Asteroid City may well feel all too familiar for some. Its visual appeal cannot be disputed. It really is a gorgeous cinematic spectacle. But like an ecstatic child in a sweetshop, Anderson takes too much joy in overstuffing his film with cinematic confection, when in reality a little self-control could have gone a long way. It will be hard not to enjoy the assortment of treats in this Wes Anderson pic ‘n’ mix, but beyond the moment it may struggle to adequately satisfy.
Written by Hamish Calvert
★★★
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Thanks to Queen’s Film Theatre for screening access
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