I finally got the opportunity to watch Asteroid City. I am a long-time fan of Wes Anderson, but none of the people around me share my joy in his movies so I have to gush about it online.
Something about this film hit me really hard while watching, something in the way that the film uses multiple layers of storytelling about telling a story and how that highlights the real emotions being shown. I’m definitely going to have to find the time to watch it again.
Those who have seen it, what are your thoughts on the movie? Aside from whether you enjoyed it, did you get anything deeper out of it beyond the offbeat comedy?
I felt he had to out-Wes Anderson himself, to stay ahead of the Wes Anderson AI parodies. He achieved that.
At this point he is beyond attempts at conventional criticism - you go to see a Wes Anderson film and you know roughly what you are going to get. However, compared to previous works, it did leave me a bit flat, although there were some genuinely funny moments in it.
I loved it! I felt it was a wonderful meditation on the experience of the Pandemic. The intensity, the confusion, the life happening in spite of quarantine, and even how everything got so ridiculous that we all stopped being shocked. In a lot of ways, I found it cathartic that somebody had managed to talk about the struggle of COVID without ever mentioning a disease. Like, I’ve had quite enough of ‘contagion movies’ now for a lifetime, so, I think that will help it hold up over time.
Imo, his finest.
Honestly it might be my favourite Anderson film so far. Really powerful in the way all the layers built up to the dénouement, and the blurring of the lines between the framing device and narrative was very well done. I think the emotional core of the story managed to shine through, too, without drowning in the stylistic aspects – probably because it was inextricably linked to the style.
I thought it was visually stunning with largely great dialogue but I struggled to connect with it emotionally. Even the balcony scene which seemed to leave an impact on people, I just didn’t feel much or felt like I understood the stakes. Though I intend to watch it again because I suspect it will be easier to process and appreciate
Edit: spelling
For me it wasn’t so much the dialog as the overall emotional content and context within a few of the theater scenes. I honestly can’t remember much of the dialog that stood out to me, but I mostly enjoy Anderson’s movies for the vibe I get from them.
I liked it. I don’t think it’s one of his best movies or anything but I thought it was funny and pleasant to watch. My biggest complaints are that there wasn’t much of a story and Jason Schwartzman’s character wasn’t very compelling or likeable IMO. But most of the other characters were great.
The mannerisms of the Edward Norton playwright character reminds me of someone that I knew in the past, and I think it made more of an impact on me because of that.
