Review of 'Asteroid City'
As is typical for Wes Anderson films, summarizing the plot of “Asteroid City” is, shall we say, a bit complicated.
Set in a retro-futuristic 1955 the film starts with a television presenter introducing the filming of a play. “Asteroid City” is a (very) small town located in the middle of a dessert with a hotel run by slightly sleezy manager Steve Carell, gas station and not much else. A youth convention comes to town with (of course) a quirky set of guests including war photojournalist Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), his son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and three daughters whose car breaks down forcing them to call on the help of his father-in-law Stanley Zak (Tom Hanks). Attracting Augie's attention is Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), a famous actress, who is accompanied by her daughter Dinah (Grace Edwards) are also in town for the convention. The convention awards ceremony in a nearby crater is interrupted by the sudden appearance of UFO with an alien stealing a meteorite fragment then disappearing into the night sky. The town is quickly placed under military quarantine by General Gibson (Jeffrey Wright)…
This is a very typical Wes Anderson film with the familiar washed out colour palate, quirky story, and quirky, awkward characters along with an incredible ensemble cast. If you like odd you will be in heaven here. The plot is, of course, mostly secondary to the film with the characters and what they get up to far more interesting. It could be that all of this quirky stuff could be a bit too much and threaten to become overwhelming but it is actually quite entertaining and interesting to watch. The typical Anderson stilted characters being forced to deal with unusual situations (or, often, other odd-ball characters) is the name of the game here. The throwing in of the aliens is just something that provokes more interesting responses. Oddly, for Anderson, there is a brief bit of nudity here which seems slightly out of place but it is in keeping with the plot.
It does seem to drag on quite a bit with Anderson's typical unhurried pace but with ironic short fast-paced bits to throw the viewer off and make them pay attention (“what the heck just happened?”). The minimal, almost impressionistic, setting reflects the idea that what we are actually witnessing is a play but it also allows the filmmaker to provide a surreal and imaginative atmosphere for the characters to interact with - The abandoned, half-completed overpass, the surrounding, barren flat dessert landscape, the simple strip of tarmac through the town…
If you are fan of Anderson's quirky artistic style and characters you will be in heaven. If you aren't you will want to steer clear. For the rest of you, if you are willing to just take it all in and not take any of it too seriously, you will love it. Other than feeling a bit drawn out (yes, even for Anderson) I found it an amusing and enjoyable ride.
Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2025-08-09
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Studio: Focus Features
Year: 2023
Length: 105 minutes
Genre: Melodrama
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230388/
Other reviewed films by Wes Anderson:
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Isle of Dogs (2018)
- The French Dispatch (2021)