‘Asteroid City’ – Review
It’s always an event when a Wes Anderson film arrives in cinemas, and the quirky filmmaker’s newest work, Asteroid City, is a film that plays into a heavy mix of nostalgia for times gone by and brings together a large collection of quirky misfits to tell a touching story.
World-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town circa 1955.
As a singularly driven cinema auteur, Wes Anderson has a voice and style that is all his own, and his eclectic mind and curious storytelling abilities find a new canvas for their application in Asteroid City. Best described as a nostalgia-driven, metatextual narrative of the space age, and the collective group theatre experience of the late 1950s, Asteroid City is a film that completely stands on its own, and audiences seeking quirks will be rewarded. With bright hues of aqua blue, dusty browns, and burnt oranges, Anderson transports his audience to the American Southwest for a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet camp, where strange happenings suddenly occur. Every moment of this picture makes for a sublime surprise, and there are plenty of eccentricities that will make audiences smile and giggle.
Anderson again pulls together an incredible group of players for this production that features both loyal followers and excited newcomers, and it’s a star-driven vehicle. Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carrell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton and Bryan Cranston all come together to make this picture glow, and each gets to express their true artistic desires under Anderson’s direction.
As a cinematic experience, Asteroid City makes for a charming watch, and its off-beat humour, peculiar narrative, and artistically, beautiful construction create a sense of playfulness and curiosity in the audience. It’s a film that is opening and inviting, inspiring a sense of universal magic that audiences can feel they are involved in, and its eccentric narrative makes for a touching watch.
Whether you’re one of the Anderson faithful or are just seeking an artistic expression that standouts out from typical Hollywood fare, Asteroid City makes for a very joyful and whimsical watch.
Image: Universal Pictures
