ASTEROID CITY: An Exercise In Acting Disinterested

When you sit down to watch a Wes Anderson film you know exactly what you’re in for but at the same time you have absolutely no idea. You know you’re in for a visually stunning time, you know that the dialogue will be meticulously thought out and purposeful, and you know that however you think it will end… it will end differently. From Fantastic Mr. Fox to The French Dispatch to The Grand Budapest Hotel, something strange and different happens every time. Anderson pulls you in with a calm and deliberate delivery and then forces you to pay attention with spectacle you didn’t see coming. Asteroid City is no different in those respects.

To say that Wes Anderson is a master filmmaker would be a disservice to other filmmakers, no, he is in a class all his own. Wes Anderson is a master Wes Anderson film maker. That is to say, no one else could make a movie like this and get away with it. No one would expect the artistry and postcard painting style that he so effortlessly delivers from film to film. Every frame is an experience, every line of dialogue is a perfect out of context quote. You can call them movies for sure, but maybe calling them art projects is more appropriate.

A play in three acts

This film has layers and by that I mean it’s a movie about a TV show about a play within a play “about infinity and I don’t know what else.” That’s according to Adrien Brody’s character, a playwright named Schubert Green. This movie about a TV show about a play within a play has an incredibly stacked cast that includes (deep breath here) Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffery Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, and Hope Davis. But also; Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum (deep deep breath) did I forget anybody? Everybody came to play and everyone gave slightly undercooked performances, which was kind of the point. They were the colorful embodiment of a play being written in black and white. There wasn’t a weak link among them.

All of the acting was on an even playing field, no one tried to outdo anyone else. Tom Hanks even turned in a surprisingly subdued performance. No, in Asteroid City the star of the show was the many set designers and mat painters and miniature builders that put this world together in all of its pastel over-the-top beauty. Adam Stockhausen and crew once again knocked it out of the park. This is the fifth film he and Anderson have done together and by far the most beautiful to look at. Although you know that you’re looking at something artificial, your brain has a hard time telling just where the real ends and the façade begins. Everything is practical, no green screen or CGI, it is a complete and welcome throwback.

The uh, alien, stole the asteroid

The story takes place in 1955 in Asteroid City at a convention for the Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet leagues. That is the reason for nearly everyone being there apart from Jason Schwartzman’s character (Augie Steenbeck) and his children. Augie and his family were on their way to his father-in-law’s house (Hanks) because of the loss of his wife and their mother, (something he hasn’t told them yet) when their car broke down stranding them in the middle of the festivities. Everyone has their own lives going on, every character seems to have an interesting story that could be followed. This movie could tell the same story 30 different ways from several different points of view and each one would be just as interesting. Finding out what Maya Hawke’s June Douglas was up to, before and during these wild events with that group of children would be a blast.

As with most Wes Anderson films, the sound design and music choices are also on point. Too often a movie will have dialogue you can barely hear and action and music stabs that burst your eardrums. All of that here is perfectly balanced and is a welcome treat. The song choices and score are also the same kind of off-beat decisions we’ve come to expect from Anderson and there was no reason to change being himself in this case. It all worked beautifully well to tie the visuals and the acting together into a perfect and palatable package. That being said this movie also had some moments of quiet. Some times when there wasn’t a score, there were no songs to fill the silence, we just had to pay attention to what was happening in front of us. I was really into that.

Conclusion

If you aren’t into Wes Anderson films then there probably isn’t anything in the world I could say to convince you that this is a masterpiece. I think you should give it a shot anyway and maybe you will change your mind. However if you are an Anderson fan, I have some really good news. There isn’t a part of this film that doesn’t work, from the writing to the cinematography, to the music and the acting. The editing to tell us the story within a story within a television show, it was all handled with class and brilliance.

Anderson has done it again and has handed us his best film in years, possibly his best ever (in my humble opinion, Fantastic Mr. Fox Stan’s please watch this first). There isn’t an empty frame, there is never a wasted camera move, the word choices, the cadence, this is art filmmaking at its finest and you need to see it on the biggest screen possible. I don’t know if you can hand an entire cast (especially one of this size) an Oscar but if it were possible, I say to do it. It wouldn’t have worked if even one person didn’t understand the assignment but Anderson being Anderson, lead them expertly to the finish line. This is my movie of the year, so far.

Have you seen Asteroid City? what did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Asteroid City was released nationwide in the US theaters on June 16, 2023!