Asteroid City: Film Review
For me, Wes Anderson hasn’t been able to better his 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel, and after watching Asteroid City, I can safely say that remains the case.
A film-within-a-play, Asteroid City takes place in a remote desert in 1955 when a bunch of Junior Stargazers convene for an event inside the crater left by the Arid Plains meteorite. We primarily follow war photographer Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) and his children and actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) and her daughter Dinah (Grace Edwards).
As you can expect from any Wes Anderson film, the visuals and production and costume design are stunning. The desert setting, the layout of the town, the atmosphere and the colour palette are wonderful and it is, as usual, just glorious to look at.
But it’s a case of style over substance (again). I really liked the concept and Anderson’s standard whimsical tone but it never clicked. I expected all of these solid components to amount to something amazing but they don’t quite come together in a satisfying way. It’s highly amusing and I laughed a few times but something was off in the execution and I never connected with the story or felt invested in it.
The star-studded cast is an embarrassment of riches. There are so many big names but only a handful of substantial characters. That means we have major actors appearing for one scene or a few lines and their talents are wasted. It’s actually crazy how many actors were willing to sign up for small day player roles simply to be involved in a Wes Anderson film. It’s a testament to him that the usual suspects – Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, and Willem Dafoe – keep returning while more big names – Johansson, Tom Hanks, and Margot Robbie – join the fold. That means his casts keep getting bigger and bigger when they might not need to be quite so large.
The standout is Schwartzman, who is well-versed in Anderson’s dialogue and has the delivery and tone locked down. His quirky character is entertaining and he develops an interesting bond with Midge, a famous actress in a time of deep thought and introspection. Most of the other actors have very little to do so it wouldn’t be fair to comment on their performance.
If you love Wes Anderson films, then you’ll probably eat Asteroid City right up because it delivers what you would expect in terms of style and tone, even though the story doesn’t particularly go anywhere. However, if you’re not a convert then this isn’t the film to win you over.
In cinemas from Friday 23rd June