For those unfamiliar with this auteur director's work, it is difficult to explain Wes Anderson. I am not up to it. The only thing I have to say is that among his work, "Moonrise Kingdom" might have been the most mainstream, Anderson eccentricities notwithstanding. I really enjoyed that one and highly recommend it.
"Asteroid City" does have a plot, although it is executed in a deceptively haphazard fashion. Among the dazzling star-studded cast, there are quite a few that are only short cameos. The plot is in two layers, the behind-the-scene story of the birth of a stage play (shot in black and white) and the play itself (shot in mesmerizing color). Let me reverse the order and tackle the play first.
Set in 1955, Asteroid City is a fictional town (yes, not quite a city) in the American Southwest, deriving its name from an astronomic event - a meteor leaving a crater that became a tourist spot. At the time of the story, this town is getting busy with astronomic conventions and space camps. The hustle-bustle is interrupted (or enhanced, if you like), by the arrival of two real aliens, whose appearance could be loosely characterized as "matchstick man". They steal the asteroid, but later return it. That is about all that is happening.
Anchored on this macro backdrop, the intriguing thing is the micro stories of various people who come to town. At the core is the Steenbeck family, a war photographer Augie (Jason Schwartzman), teenage son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) who comes to join the Asteroid Day competition, and three very young daughters who are, however, mature enough to be characterized as "the three witches". While "Asteroid City" has been labelled a comedy, the Steenback story camouflages a tragedy at heart. Upon arrival at Asteroid City, Augie tells his kids that their mother (Margot Robbie) had died three weeks ago. As grieving becomes embedded in the Anderson style comedy. Later, his father-in-law (Tom Hanks) arrives and confronts "the three witches" who are trying to conjure up their deceased beloved mother, using the cremated ashes of his daughter that Augie brought along. The poignancy is sealed in a flashback scene with Schwartzman and Robbie talking across the street from balconies, apparently at the budding of the romance between their respective characters.
The current romance, however, is with Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson, a Hollywood star coming to town with her daughter who has also entered the same competition as Woodrow. While the young ones connect, essentially in science but not without a trace of teenage romance, their parents find themselves in a more intriguing situation. Their interaction is mostly from their facing rental cabins, which makes most of their scenes framed by the respective windows. Sometimes flirtish, sometime deadpan, sometimes poignant, sometimes philosophical, the two share a lot of themselves with each other, becoming kind of a soulmate.
Of the assortment of other characters coming to town, some are more notable while others mere cameos. Jeffrey Wright (playing a five-star general) and Tilda Swinton (playing a scientist) team up to represent the government in a more or less PR mission, which is then twisted into a control center in the aliens crisis. Maya Hawke is a teacher bringing a platoon of children on a field trip. Rupert Friend is a singing cowboys who happens to be around. These two choice TV actors, from "Stranger Things" and "Homeland" respectively, team up to do some song and dance. There are plenty others, too many to list.
Now to the other part of the movie, shot in retro black-and-white, the behind-the-scene story of the aforementioned play. Throughout the movie Anderson cuts back and forth between this two plotlines.
The movie in fact opens with a television host (Bryan Cranston) introducing the play. But once he starts describing Asteroid City, the déjà vu of Thornton Wilder's "Our town" emerges effortlessly with Cranston as the "stage manager" in that play. Appearing in this story are a couple of heavyweights, Edward Norton as the playwright and Adrien Brody as the director, each with his own back-story.
Various critics try to explain "Asteroid City". I think it is best left for the audience to independently experience, process and discover.
"Asteroid City" does have a plot, although it is executed in a deceptively haphazard fashion. Among the dazzling star-studded cast, there are quite a few that are only short cameos. The plot is in two layers, the behind-the-scene story of the birth of a stage play (shot in black and white) and the play itself (shot in mesmerizing color). Let me reverse the order and tackle the play first.
Set in 1955, Asteroid City is a fictional town (yes, not quite a city) in the American Southwest, deriving its name from an astronomic event - a meteor leaving a crater that became a tourist spot. At the time of the story, this town is getting busy with astronomic conventions and space camps. The hustle-bustle is interrupted (or enhanced, if you like), by the arrival of two real aliens, whose appearance could be loosely characterized as "matchstick man". They steal the asteroid, but later return it. That is about all that is happening.
Anchored on this macro backdrop, the intriguing thing is the micro stories of various people who come to town. At the core is the Steenbeck family, a war photographer Augie (Jason Schwartzman), teenage son Woodrow (Jake Ryan) who comes to join the Asteroid Day competition, and three very young daughters who are, however, mature enough to be characterized as "the three witches". While "Asteroid City" has been labelled a comedy, the Steenback story camouflages a tragedy at heart. Upon arrival at Asteroid City, Augie tells his kids that their mother (Margot Robbie) had died three weeks ago. As grieving becomes embedded in the Anderson style comedy. Later, his father-in-law (Tom Hanks) arrives and confronts "the three witches" who are trying to conjure up their deceased beloved mother, using the cremated ashes of his daughter that Augie brought along. The poignancy is sealed in a flashback scene with Schwartzman and Robbie talking across the street from balconies, apparently at the budding of the romance between their respective characters.
The current romance, however, is with Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson, a Hollywood star coming to town with her daughter who has also entered the same competition as Woodrow. While the young ones connect, essentially in science but not without a trace of teenage romance, their parents find themselves in a more intriguing situation. Their interaction is mostly from their facing rental cabins, which makes most of their scenes framed by the respective windows. Sometimes flirtish, sometime deadpan, sometimes poignant, sometimes philosophical, the two share a lot of themselves with each other, becoming kind of a soulmate.
Of the assortment of other characters coming to town, some are more notable while others mere cameos. Jeffrey Wright (playing a five-star general) and Tilda Swinton (playing a scientist) team up to represent the government in a more or less PR mission, which is then twisted into a control center in the aliens crisis. Maya Hawke is a teacher bringing a platoon of children on a field trip. Rupert Friend is a singing cowboys who happens to be around. These two choice TV actors, from "Stranger Things" and "Homeland" respectively, team up to do some song and dance. There are plenty others, too many to list.
Now to the other part of the movie, shot in retro black-and-white, the behind-the-scene story of the aforementioned play. Throughout the movie Anderson cuts back and forth between this two plotlines.
The movie in fact opens with a television host (Bryan Cranston) introducing the play. But once he starts describing Asteroid City, the déjà vu of Thornton Wilder's "Our town" emerges effortlessly with Cranston as the "stage manager" in that play. Appearing in this story are a couple of heavyweights, Edward Norton as the playwright and Adrien Brody as the director, each with his own back-story.
Various critics try to explain "Asteroid City". I think it is best left for the audience to independently experience, process and discover.