Time: 105 Minutes
Age Rating: M– Nudity & suicide references
Cast:
Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenbeck
Scarlett Johansson as Midge Campbell
Tom Hanks as Stanley Zak
Jeffrey Wright as General Gibson
Tilda Swinton as Dr. Hickenlooper
Bryan Cranston as Host
Edward Norton as Conrad Earp
Adrien Brody as Schubert Green
Liev Schreiber as J.J. Kellogg
Hope Davis as Sandy Borden
Stephen Park as Roger Cho
Rupert Friend as Montana
Maya Hawke as June Douglas
Steve Carell as Motel Manager
Matt Dillon as a Mechanic
Hong Chau as Polly
Willem Dafoe as Saltzburg Keitel
Margot Robbie as Actress/Wife
Tony Revolori as Aide-de-camp
Jake Ryan as Woodrow
Jeff Goldblum as the alien
Director: Wes Anderson

Naturally as a fan of Wes Anderson, I was looking forward to his next film. From the looks in the trailers it was distinctly one of his movies; having his visual style, and a stacked cast including Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Steve Carrell, Bryan Cranston and more. Asteroid City is another reliably great movie from him.

Asteroid City has an enjoyable story, and its very well made and funny, especially with the dialogue and visual comedy. There is an interesting framing device with the main plot being set within a play with actors playing the parts of the characters. There are even cue cards dictating the scene changes and new acts. Not sure if everyone will be on board with it and I’m not certain as to the meaning of this choice, but I was fine with it, and I feel like I’ll understand it on repeat viewings. It’s a sincere and self reflective look at grief and trauma, with a real sense of melancholy throughout. There’s enough there to have me curious to rewatch it sometime. As for the main criticisms, the ending is kind of abrupt; it feels incomplete and it could’ve gone on for a little longer, but perhaps that’s somewhat intentional.

It seems that with every subsequent film Wes Anderson makes, his cast list gets even more absurdly stacked and talented. Each character is quirky and distinctly detailed in their own ways, and their respective actors played them well. For me, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks were the standouts, with Schwartzman particularly giving one of the best performances I’ve seen from him. Other actors like Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Maya Hawke, Steve Carrell, Liev Schreiber, Tilda Swinton, Stephen Park, Margot Robbie, and much more play their parts really well.

This is clearly and distinctly one of Wes Anderson’s movies, featuring many of his trademarks including visually breathtaking cinematography with bright pastel colours and even usages of stop motion. The production design is particularly outstanding, and the soundtrack is also solid.

Asteroid City is another great film from Wes Anderson, visually stunning, sincere, funny, well constructed, and with a great ensemble cast. If you’re far from a Wes Anderson fan, this likely won’t convert you. However, I for one really enjoyed it, and there’s enough interesting things thematically that I’m curious to revisit it sometime.