Asteroid City review

ASTEROID CITY: 

A WHIMSICAL AND QUIRKY CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE “WES” KIND! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

FOCUS FEATURES

The star-studded citizens of the titular city in Asteroid City

 

            A Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention makes first contact with an unexpected visitor in Asteroid City, the new film from Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch). I’m always down for new Wes Anderson entertainment as the man does phenomenal visual storytelling with a very distinct directing style. 

            I’ve already praised his filmmaking before in other reviews, so I won’t waste time repeating myself. I will say that he alongside Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino are some of my most influential filmmakers that always get me interested in making movies whenever I see one of their films. 

            I was intrigued by Asteroid City when I first saw the trailer and thought it looked like a fun homage to classic sci-fi/alien contact films done in Anderson’s signature directing style. While I don’t think it’s one of his absolute best films, I really enjoyed myself with Asteroid City. 

            The film’s events are actually told as if it’s an old television broadcast or stage reenactment of said events and is set in the in-universe fictional town known as Asteroid City that’s hosting a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention. The convention is organized to bring students and parents from across the country together for fellowship and scholarly competition, but the convention is spectacularly disrupted by a bizarre series of world-changing events including contact with a mysterious alien. 

            The film stars frequent Wes Anderson collaborator Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) as war photographer and widowed father Augie Steenbeck, Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jojo Rabbit) as actress and mother Midge Campbell, Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Cast Away) as Augie’s father-in-law Stanley Zak, Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale, The Hunger Games franchise, The Batman) as Junior Stargazer Awards show host General Grif Gibson, Tilda Swinton (Adaptation, The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as scientist Dr. Hickenlooper, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Argo, Godzilla (2014)) as the host of an anthology series, Edward Norton (American History X, Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk) as legendary playwright Conrad Earp, Adrien Brody (The Thin Red Line, King Kong (2005), See How They Run) as director Schubert Green, Liev Schreiber (Scream franchise, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) as J.J. Kellogg, Hope Davis (Flatliners, About Schmidt, American Splendor) as Sandy Borden, Stephen Park (In Living Color, Falling Down, Fargo) as Roger Cho, Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Obi-Wan Kenobi) as Montana, Maya Hawke (Stranger Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Fear Street Part One: 1994) as June Douglas, Steve Carell (Anchorman 1 and 2, The Office, Foxcatcher) as a motel manager, Matt Dillon (The Outsiders, In & Out, There’s Something About Mary) as Hank, Hong Chau (Treme, Inherent Vice, Watchmen) as Polly Green, Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Spider-Man, The Lighthouse) as Saltzburg Keitel, Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dope, Spider-Man franchise) as Gen, and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park franchise, Independence Day 1 and 2, Thor: Ragnarok) as ???. 

            Overall, Asteroid City may not be among Wes Anderson’s best work, but it’s still a well-crafted and thoroughly enjoyable film with a star-studded cast and quirky dialogue to boot. It isn’t for everyone though, especially those who aren’t fans of this director’s style, and it certainly won’t be the film that will win those people over. 

            However, those who are familiar with Anderson’s work and love his efforts as a director will be engrossed by its unconventional storyline and marvel at its storybook-esque production design. This is not your typical alien encounter movie like Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Robert Zemeckis’ Contact as the alien only appears briefly in certain scenes and it doesn’t even become an alien movie until the halfway point. 

            The first half of the movie doesn’t have much of a storyline, you’re basically just watching the people in Asteroid City live their lives, interact with each other, and get ready for their big convention. I couldn’t even describe what the movie was about until the alien UFO showed up and I still didn’t always know where it was going. 

            What keeps the movie thoroughly engaging from start to finish is its cast of characters, not just the actors playing them but also the characters themselves. Since this is a film with a very large cast, some actors won’t get as much time to shine as others, but just about every cast member utilizes the time given to them to their advantages and even extremely minor characters like Steve Carell as a hotel manager or Bryan Cranston as a TV host leave an impression. 

            The cast member who probably has the most development is Jason Schwartzman as Augie; I’ve enjoyed Schwartzman’s performances in other Wes Anderson movies and films like Scott Pilgrim and his recent vocal performance as The Spot in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse really showed off his comedic talents. Schwartzman has excellent comedic timing when delivering a funny line in the film like a scene where he’s talking to his four children about Heaven which he does not believe in and of course he acknowledges his true beliefs while trying to comfort his kids which is funny while also selling the heartfelt moments as well. 

            The production design is also stellar and really captures that storybook feeling Anderson is known for. It’s almost like you’re watching a play but on the screen in terms of its visual style, in fact I’d be down for Wes Anderson to direct a live stage show, his films already have that look to begin with. 

            Granted, the film doesn’t quite do much new in terms of Wes Anderson cinema, a lot of these tropes, characters, and filmmaking techniques you’ve seen in his other films. But if the story is well written and the characters are compelling, it doesn’t really matter too much. 

            I had fun with Asteroid City, it’s not perfect or one of the director’s strongest outings, but the technicals are appealing, the characters are very likable, and the plot is engaging. Hop on the train and witness Asteroid City for yourself, 10 points for using the Slim Whitman song from Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! in this movie, BTW.