Verdict
Summary
From Wes Anderson, that singular filmmaker whose movies have become more strange and less relatable with each film he’s done, Asteroid City still has enough of a human hook – grief, longing, confusion, alienation – to make it something special of its own kind, and it has a stunning visual pallet with striking, handmade set design and handcrafted production values, akin to none other.
Plot:
A writer’s play about a tiny town in the desert takes on some interesting dimensions, particularly when an alien shows up to steal an asteroid.
Review:
An American writer named Conrad Earp (Edward Norton with a drawl) concocts a play that materializes in front of us. A tiny town called Asteroid City is host to a competition for young inventors, who convene and fellowship in the stark, dreamy haze of the unblinking sunlight. There is Woodrow (Jake Ryan), Ricky (Ethan Josh Lee), Shelly (Sophia Lillis), and Dinah (Grace Edwards), and of course their idiosyncratic parents who indulge their collective genius. Woodrow’s photographer dad Augie (Jason Schwarzman) has been hiding the fact that his wife – Woodrow’s mother – has been dead for some weeks, and when he finally tells his son, it complicates his son’s chances at winning the grand prize in the competition. At one of the gatherings, an alien shows up in front of everyone and makes off with the town’s centerpiece – an asteroid – and leaves the town without its namesake. What does it all mean? Maybe something. Maybe not.
From Wes Anderson, that singular filmmaker whose movies have become more strange and less relatable with each film he’s done, Asteroid City still has enough of a human hook – grief, longing, confusion, alienation – to make it something special of its own kind, and it has a stunning visual pallet with striking, handmade set design and handcrafted production values, akin to none other. There’s nothing quite like this film, and while it could theoretically be compared to only Wes Anderson’s other previous works, it is highly unique and amusing if you have the whimsy for it. With a plethora of supporting players like Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Adrian Brody, and others like Jeff Goldblum, Morgot Robbie, and Matt Dillon (and more), the film is a who’s-who of big stars who show up in small roles. It’s not much of a coming of age feature, but it’s certainly of interest for fans of movies about weird, maladjusted teenagers, particularly set in the 1950’s.
Universal has just released Asteroid City on a Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Code combo pack, and it also has a four-part making-of feature, plus some digital only features, including “The Alien,” and “The Roadrunner.”
