I fell into the Wes Anderson trap again. I’ve not been a fan of most of his movies, but each time he releases a new one, I look at the amazing cast and fool myself into believing this will be different.
Who wouldn’t want to see a movie featuring Scarlett Johansson, Steve Carrell, Tom Hanks, Jason Schwartzman, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Hope Davis, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, and Margot Robbie? They’re all listed in the opening credits of “Asteroid City,” along with Jeff Goldblum as The Alien, because, of course.
Anderson shot “Asteroid City” in a color palette of seemingly overexposed pastels and uses dolly moves and quick pans. They give the film a unique look, but it’s too bad the plot makes no sense. It’s entirely composed of quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness.
The storyline takes place in 1955 in the desert southwest with atomic bomb tests going on in the background. In the foreground is the titular town, which starts with just a few odd folks, but quickly becomes overrun by more of them thanks to a bunch of young science enthusiasts and a brief visit from an extraterrestrial. As if that’s not enough layers, there’s also the framing device of black and white segments that give the impression we’re watching a vintage television show. For some reason, Cranston narrates those while imitating Nick Offerman’s basso profundo voice. Oh, and there are title cards telling us which act and scene we’re about to watch. Don’t ask me why.
As pretty as the images are, the whole thing is an absolute mess which wastes the talents of so many people. Though I was squirming in my seat and almost headed for the door several times, I stuck with it through all 104 minutes. At the end, however, I shook my head in shame at allowing myself to once again be bamboozled by the Anderson hype.
Trust me when I tell you not to buy into it. “Asteroid City” only deserves a 2 out of 10.