Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
Synopsis: The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
The “filmmaker vs. author” debate has always been one of the most snobbish, elitist discussions in the world of cinema. Personally, I avoid at all costs using the second term, simply because it’s more often used as an attempt to belittle other directors than to boost those who supposedly deserve that label. That said, Wes Anderson possesses what all filmmakers desire – or should desire – to achieve: an unquestionably unique style that any cinephile can recognize through a single frame. Whether people appreciate the writer-director or not, no year goes by where one of his movies isn’t one of the most anticipated. Well then, here comes Asteroid City…
Wes Anderson makes it difficult for viewers to be surprised. The qualities and flaws of his films, especially on the technical side, are practically the same, movie after movie. The filmmaker usually works with the same people in the various technical departments, and Asteroid City is no exception to this rule, with Adam Stockhausen (production designer), Robert Yeoman (cinematographer), and Alexander Desplat (composer) being the most common colleagues throughout his career. His way of telling stories through deadpan dialogue and humor – a deliberate display of neutral or null emotion – remains an essential feature of his narratives.
Starting precisely with this last aspect, Wes Anderson is, by far, the filmmaker who best manages to transform the ridiculous, absurd, and surreal into something more accessible to the general audience. Even if a film is purposely devoid of emotion, it’s not always easy to feel captivated by the narrative or the characters, much less create an emotional connection with them. In the case of Asteroid City and many of the filmmaker’s other movies, the loaded cast with dozens of A-listers and its appealing visual aesthetic help grab viewers’ attention.
On the other side of the coin, the narrative randomness and the lack of a more cohesive, coherent main plot, in addition to the rarely emotive scenes, contribute to the estrangement of the audience. However, perhaps due to a simpler and more direct premise, as well as more impressive performances, Asteroid City offers a lighter, more enjoyable viewing than The French Dispatch, also due to deadpan being better executed and performed, especially in the area of comedy. The rapid-fire, extremely complex dialogues and monologues – tons of words in a few seconds – are truly mesmerizing and demonstrate the pure talent of some actors – Jeffrey Wright is exceptional in this regard.
Utilizing Bryan Cranston as an excellent narrator, the screenplay of Asteroid City contains a story within a story. Edward Norton plays a screenwriter preparing his next play, and viewers follow his process throughout the film with occasional interruptions and transitions, but the main plot is the actual representation of that same play on the big screen. Wes Anderson even divides his movie into acts and respective scenes, explicitly displaying this information with title cards, helping viewers to navigate the several storylines.
Deep down, the “primary narrative” is nothing more than a mere connecting device between the diverse mini-stories that take place in certain parts of the city with a particular group of characters. Some have more screen time than others, but there’s not exactly a typical pair of protagonists. The closest to this “status” would be Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson. The actors mostly share the spotlight, with the former having another role on the “real” side, along with Norton.
Regarding the performances, my personal standout has to be Maya Hawke. The young actress plays a teacher responsible for her class’s field trip to Asteroid City, having greater expressive and emotional freedom, as well as some of the funniest sequences in the entire film – Rupert Friend also has merit here. Steve Carell exudes all his charisma as a motel manager. All the others are expectedly phenomenal, understanding the director’s intentions perfectly by delivering stoic performances, even if some are just cameos with a single line or a scene.
As expected, not all groups of characters have an interesting narrative. Viewers will feel more intrigued by some mini-stories than others, but everyone partially suffers from the lack of something more thematic. Asteroid City is indeed quite random, and despite much of this being the filmmaker’s purpose, there are times when it seems that it’s the audience that has to make an effort to enjoy the movie rather than the latter winning over the viewers. The only exception would be the tragic past of a grieving family, but it’s extremely difficult to address a topic as sensitive and inherently emotional as the death of a loved one when it’s not “allowed” to display any kind of sentimental expression or conversation.
Technically, there are no doubts surrounding the inevitable nominations for production design and cinematography, with editing, costume design, and make-up also being worthy of awards. It’s genuinely fascinating to observe the stunningly built sets, the lovely color palette, and the exquisite camera panning right-to-left and up-and-down. Still, it’s Desplat’s score that took me by surprise. Asteroid City benefits immensely from the composer’s background music, which fits like a glove into the city’s astronomic, desert environment, adding a nice layer of fun on top of the deadpan humor.
For fans of Wes Anderson, Asteroid City doesn’t disappoint, offering exactly what was expected from it. For viewers who don’t exactly appreciate the filmmaker’s style, I don’t think this film will convert you. Personally, it’s nowhere near the level of The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it’s a considerable improvement over The French Dispatch.
