I confess that I’m just not a Wes Anderson fan. I’ve tried very hard to be over the years, but so many of his movies have left me cold, indifferent, and just downright bored. With “Asteroid City” it feels like Wes Anderson is appealing to his hardcore fans more than trying to create something that’s accessible to new fans. With his sense of framing and shooting scenes that feel like bad A.I. jpegs, and his multi-layered, somewhat confusing narrative, “Asteroid City” will score with folks that loved the likes of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” or “The Aquatic Life.” As for me, I entered it hopeful and left generally indifferent by the whole affair. Not even the obscenely talented ensemble cast could win me over, I’m disappointed to admit.
“Asteroid City” is a pseudo anthology meta-comedy that offers commentary about writing, the pressures of fame, and the life that our stories tend to take on when we’re writing them. Beginning with a narrator played by Bryan Cranston, he introduces us to a story that is essentially a play written by famed playwright Conrad Earp. Earp tells the story of Asteroid City, a town made famous by an asteroid landing where a science fair for kids is being held. The kids and their families arrive at the desert town in the middle of nowhere and mix back and forth with a ton of sub-plots and quirky dialogue, et al. But when an actual alien lands in the town, the visitors try to grapple with what the visitation means for everything they think they know about life.
“Asteroid City” is beautiful. It’s absolutely beautiful from head to toe, and Anderson’s cold direction is underscored by talented cinematographer Robert Yeomon. The entire film embraces this uncanny valley aesthetic that is both distracting and somewhat hypnotizing. No one really acts like actual human beings, despite the narrator making it perfectly clear we’re watching a play. The dialogue is robotic, the sub-plots are bizarre, and there isn’t a lot of conflict that kept me engaged. That’s tough to say as, once again, Wes Anderson elicits a humongous ensemble cast. Everyone is in this movie from Scarlett Johannson, Bryan Cranston, and Steve Carrell, to Hope Davis, Maya Hawke, Sophia Lillis, Tony Revolori, and Geoffrey Wright, respectively.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg, too. It seems like Anderson just ran his finger down a list of in vogue actors and—let’s be honest, who would say no to Wes Anderson? In either case, the most unusual role belongs to Tom Hanks who seems to be filling in for Anderson regular Bill Murray. Hanks’ role has all the hallmarks of a character written for Murray, and it wouldn’t be too far-fetched considering Anderson brings on all of his regulars (Jason Schwartzman and Jake Ryan) for yet another film. That’s not to say Hanks is bad in the role, he’s actually quite good. I just wish the movie had more depth and much more interesting characters. In all of the people running back and forth on screen, only Scarlett Johannson delivers a character that I really wanted to see more of.
Suffice to say, “Asteroid City” is a divisive film at the moment, and I imagine come awards season it’ll be fawned over profusely. When all was said and done, “Asteroid City” is pretty to look at, but really nothing more. It’s just another cold Wes Anderson opus that revels in its quirks, eccentricities, and deliberate palaver.