Asteroid City takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955. Synopsis: The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
Wes Anderson films are best described as an acquired taste. I first heard of him during an impromptu conversation while waiting in an airport (the event itself being like a scene from one of his films). At first I wasn’t attracted to a specific film but I found the aesthetic to be fascinating. The use of limited colors and and symmetrical shot composition affected my own comic creation for many years. I’m giving this little anecdote so that readers will know that this is not a wholly unbiased review. For those who are new to Wes Anderson films, I’d recommend checking out his greatest hits like Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel to see if his style and humor is your speed.
For those who have more recently discovered his work with films like Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch, this review for Asteroid City will be more useful. Asteroid City doesn’t attempt to one-up previous films in terms of spectacle or plot but rather adds another painting to the gallery of Wes Anderson’s signature films.
Asteroid City is structured as a play within a film. The scenes backstage are done in black-and-white while the play’s performance is in postcard pastel color. This allows for an intriguing meta-narrative as cast-members have drama both on and off stage. However, this meta-narrative is more than just a contrived storytelling device. The story-within-a-story allows for greater thematic exploration and real world commentary.
The film is a quirky, dark comedy that takes an arthouse spin on an alien “first-contact” story. But this is used to explore the loss and existential dread many feel after multiple years in quarantine during a global pandemic. The film may be a fabulist period piece but Asteroid City also acts as a snapshot of the world we live in today. Wes Anderson and the terrific cast of actors take us to a tremendously funny, surprisingly sad, painterly dreamworld. Perhaps we need to dream in order to wake up from our current nightmare.
Asteroid City is now playing in theaters.
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