Asteroid City (2023) Review

"You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep,"

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Wes Anderson is known for his unique style when it comes to story telling. Each of his movies have a certain quirkiness that only he can achieve, which brings a sort of charm no other filmmaker succeeds on adding to their movies. Asteroid City takes on this usual odd yet interesting vibe that Anderson has become known for as he creates his first ever science fiction movie.

The movie is about the making of a play based in a small place called Asteroid City, where a meteor once landed and has since become a tourist attraction for "stargazers and space cadets." It's a place where people go for an event where they can view a specific star alignment in the sky, as well as a tournament for the smart youth to show off their inventions. The play escalates as an alien turns up in order to collect the part of the meteor that was used as a tourist attraction, resulting in the visiting tourists being placed into quarantine.

Because of the interesting way this movie was filmed and because of how many characters there are, it can be hard to tell who the main focus is on, but it can be argued that Augie Steenbeck, played by Jason Schwartzman, is the main character, even outside of the play. Near the end, he leaves the set just before the quarantine gets lifted as he begins to realise he doesn't know what the play is about, and finds himself having a one-to-one with with an unnamed actress played Margot Robbie, who was to play his character's wife in a then deleted scene. He misses his cue to return to set, and ends up missing the end of that scene so that when he returns the quarantine has lifted and everyone has gone home. Once he leaves, we also miss this development from within the play, and become just as lost as the character is on the change. It's an interesting way to make a movie: having the audience miss the key moment that influences the end, and can be seen as a form of a metaphor for how easy it is to miss out on the most important parts of life. Furthermore, the idea that Schwartzman's character is confused about the plot and it causes him to lose focus on the play itself demonstrates the idea of abstract art, and how differently we all interpret the art we see thus influencing our view of life. It is an interesting way for Anderson to demonstrate how important a free mind is when it comes the art we are consuming, as we are often influenced by the opinions of those around us (especially when it comes to movies, as the critics tend to result in whether or not someone believes a movie to be worth viewing).

The use of the play within a film was a very fascinating choice for this movie. It allowed Anderson to use low-budget props (such as the alien itself) while perfectly fitting the vibe of a small play being made, thus making it more realistic in terms of the story. One aspect of this particular style that I enjoyed was how it was filmed to resemble a documentary of the making of the play and the life of the playwright, played by Edward Norton, as it created a better sense of authenticity for the movie.

The movie consisted of a huge cast with so many stars such as the aforementioned Jason Schwartzman and Edward Norton as well as Adrian Brody, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jake Ryan, Maya Hawke and so many more while still being able to provided so much depth to each character with their own specific storylines. For example, the grief that Augie was dealing with after the death of his wife and the mother of his four children, showing him struggle to come up with a way to inform his children of her passing without ruining their trip to visit this small town and their grandfather (Tom Hanks). It takes an exceptional filmmaker to be able to carry a cast like this and still have characters that are not hollow: they have lives, and motivations, and this kind of detail is something that makes this movie so great, because you can see the effort that went into it. Not only was the cast already so full, but there were many interesting cameos, such as the appearance of Jeff Goldblum (who was seen getting into costume as the alien), Margot Robbie and Hong Chau which simply boosted my enjoyment of the movie.

In addition to this great cast, the score of the movie really sets the vibe of each scene thanks to Alexandre Dasplat, who has worked with Anderson multiple times. His music creates the perfect energy demonstrating the wonder and oddity of the movie. Moreover, the colour scheme of the movie was incredibly beautiful and further emphasises the idea that they are in this small solitary place, as it remains with the desert and Earth-like atmosphere of the setting of the play.

The movie was the perfect mix of curiosity and comedy, filmed brilliantly with the same magic Anderson always brings to anything. It was fun and lighthearted, and sometimes that is all you need from a movie. Asteroid City has definitely become one of my favourite movies from Anderson, and probably one of my top movies of the year so far.

If you enjoy sci-fi and movies that leave you a little bit perplexed, then this movie is for you. Trust me, you won't regret it.