By: Andrew Wing

Asteroid City is a 2023 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel), from a story he wrote with Roman Coppola (wrote with Anderson on his two previous films, Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch). Its metatextual plot simultaneously depicts the events of a Junior Stargazer convention in a retro-futuristic version of 1955, staged as a play, and the creation of the play.

The film features an ensemble cast that includes Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Infinity War, Marriage Story), Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan), Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale, The Batman), Tilda Swinton (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Doctor Strange), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Argo), Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk), Adrien Brody (The Pianist, The Darjeeling Limited), Liev Schreiber (Scream, Spotlight), Hope Davis (About Schmidt, American Splendor), Steve Park (Fargo, Snowpiercer), Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice, The Death of Stalin), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things, Do Revenge), Steve Carell (The Office, The Big Short), Matt Dillon (Crash, The Outsiders), Hong Chau (Watchmen, The Whale), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, The Lighthouse), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, The Suicide Squad), Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Grand Budapest Hotel), Jake Ryan (Moonrise Kingdom, Uncut Gems), and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Thor: Ragnarok).

The project was first announced in September 2020 as an untitled romance film, with Anderson writing, producing, and directing, alongside Jeremy Dawson of American Empirical Pictures and Steven Rales of Indian Paintbrush, which was now described as being about a "group of brainy teenagers" instead in February 2021. Originally set for Rome, filming took place in Spain between August and October 2021, with cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman. Several sets in Chinchón, resembling a desert landscape and a mock train station, were used for the shoot. The post-production process included editor Barney Pilling and a score composed by frequent Anderson composer Alexandre Desplat, featuring country and western songs from many artists. The official title was revealed in October 2021 at the BFI London Film Festival.

Asteroid City had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2023, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It began a limited theatrical release via Focus Features in the United States on June 16, 2023, before expanding to a wide release a week later. The film has grossed $18.3 million worldwide so far against its $25 million budget.

THE GOOD

Say whatever you want, but I love me some Wes Anderson! Yes, his movies are incredibly unique as they are strange and very eccentric, but I find them to be hilarious and call me crazy, but I take joy in watching movies about dysfunctional families, which is a recurring theme in all of his films. All of that said, I was very pumped for Asteroid City when I first heard about it. He always has amazing ensemble casts for his films, but with this one, it was on another level. I mean aside from the usual suspects, this one had Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, and a guy by the name of Tom Hanks whom you might have heard of. On top of that, those who saw it at the 76th Cannes Film Festival were calling it one of Wes Anderson’s best, so my expectations for this were at an all-time high. But did it live up to the hype? Keep reading to find out!

Was it his best movie? I don’t think so, but nevertheless, it was really freaking good and an improvement from his previous film, The French Dispatch which came out in 2021. This is a return to form for Wes Anderson if you ask me. I really enjoyed it. It was fun and light throughout, and I really appreciated how in this film, the characters were actually the stars of the movie instead of his style. Don’t get me wrong, his style in this is remarkable like it always is, but I just liked how the characters in this got much more of a front seat than the characters did in his last two films, Isle of Dogs and the previously mentioned The French Dispatch. To continue with that point, because of the amount of humanity we get from the characters, that made it really easy to connect with them. And last but not least, this was easily one of his funniest films as there were a number of scenes that I was audibly laughing at.

But now onto what everyone wants to talk about when it comes to a Wes Anderson movie, and that is the ensemble cast. First things first, I am not going to touch on every performance from every cast member in this review because there are just too many, so instead I am just going to touch on the ones I found to be the best. That said, the best performance of the movie is without a doubt Jason Schwartzman’s in the lead role as Augie Steenbeck. I love Schwartzman in everything, but he is just perfect in Wes Anderson films, and if it wasn't for his incredible performance in Rushmore, I would say that this was the best performance of his career. I just loved him in this!

Call me boring by pointing out the two biggest performances in the film, but I think the runner-up for best performance of Asteroid City belongs to Scarlett Johansson. Johansson plays Midge Campbell, a famous actress, and mother of someone who is attending the Junior Stargazer convention. It’s not on the level of what she did in Marriage Story or Jojo Rabbit, but I just continue to be impressed by her versatility as an actress and her chemistry with Schwartzman was unbelievable. Other performances that need to be mentioned include Bryan Cranston as The Host, Steve Carell as the motel manager, Matt Dillon as the town’s mechanic, and Margot Robbie, who is not in the movie for more than three minutes, but just crushes it in her one scene!

It’d be a felony if I concluded a Wes Anderson movie without touching on the visual elements of it. No surprise here, but like all of his movies, this movie is just so beautiful to look at. The production design is off the charts and it is more than deserving of a Production Design win at the Academy Awards. As for the cinematography done by Robert Yeoman, all of the scenes that take place in Asteroid City are just so gorgeous and visually stunning. I loved how bright and saturated it was and it is easily one of my favorite movies of his visually speaking. As good as the movie looked when it was in color, it was just as astonishing to look at when it was in black and white. Yeoman is also more than worthy of an Academy Award nomination, and so is Alexandre Desplat, who once again gave us another fantastic score in a Wes Anderson film!

THE BAD

If you haven’t guessed already, I really really liked Asteroid City. That said, I didn’t love it and I can totally understand why people will not like this movie. It goes without saying that if you are not a Wes Anderson fan, do not even give this a try because it truly is as Wes Anderson as Wes Anderson gets. And with that, I get it if people think that this movie is not good because it values style over substance. However, I would try and push back against that because I found this movie to value the characters more than the style, and I haven’t said that about a Wes Anderson movie since The Grand Budapest Hotel which came out almost a decade ago.

Continuing with that point, I can see and have seen complaints already that people were not able to connect with the characters in this as they say about a lot of his movies. People are allowed to have their own opinions, but I just disagree with that notion. I was so emotionally connected to the key characters and there was a scene in the third act that almost moved me to tears. Lastly, when it comes to critiques of the film, I will admit that there are a lot of layers to Asteroid City. I might get this wrong, but it is a movie about a play that is being put on via a television show. I know. It sounds confusing, but if you are paying attention, you should be able to understand everything and follow it just fine.

THE VERDICT

Asteroid City is a return to form for Wes Anderson. It is one of his best films thanks to a flawless ensemble cast led by Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson, a hilarious screenplay, stunning cinematography, and maybe the best production design we have ever gotten from him before.

I just don’t want to hear the typical “style over substance” argument from the Wes Anderson haters, because while I get it for some of his other movies, that is just not the case here. Yes, the style was perfect, but the story we get here was deeper and one of the most profound works we have gotten from him as of late.