From Wes Anderson comes perhaps the most Wes Anderson-y film he’s ever done—and it doesn’t even have Bill Murray in the lead. Between all the close-up frames of faces and a sardonic tone to rival a Cohen Brothers film, there’s no denying that there’s a style as codified as ever here in Asteroid City.
As usual with Anderson, it’s a film that makes it very clear from the get-go what sort of style it’s going for—with a framing device that becomes a story in and of itself presented by Bryan Cranston, albeit one that probably becomes the weaker side of things. I will say that, also as usual with Anderson, I do appreciate the visual side of things, as we’re presented to a hyperreal, very deliberately stage like version of a 1950s-era highway stop small town out in a southwestern desert. Between the pastel colors straight out of an era-appropriate postcard and a smattering of funky effects, it’s certainly easy on the eyes.
The rest is of course your Wes Ensemble—the closest thing to a lead is Jason Schwarztman as Augie, a widowed father and photographer with his eccentric kids who ends up stuck at the titular town before running into actress Midge, as played by Scarlett Johansson. They’re not the only ones who end up stuck there, between Augie’s father in law as played by Tom Hanks, or the group of remarkably gifted nerdy kids there for a contest, or the cowboy group with Rupert Friend that gets intertwined with a schoolteacher (Maya Hawke) and her class…and that’s before we return to the framing device with Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe making their very familiar faces seen there.
Point is, it’s all about Wes and the cast showing off their chops for acting and comedic timing. Thankfully, we’re enough star power to make it work—and once the film takes a very different and weirder turn in the middle, the entertainment value goes up with it. You want the driest possible acting-offs, you’ve got it here.
I will say that the attempts to tie together the themes at the end got…a little forced. But otherwise, there’s at least some relatable musings on estrangement, connections made in confinement, and how much we should spend on chasing certain questions. Amid the very intent and very precisely framed shots of our stars staring intently at the lens, there’s at least some there to hold it all together.
Anderson’s by this point got a style that by this point you’re on with or not—and as far as intros to his work goes, I’d probably recommend Life Aquatic a little more. Still, there was enough here to look and listen to with bemusement, so if that strikes any appeal, it’s certainly worth a look.
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