Photo courtesy of courtesy of Gazamp via Wikimedia Commons.
By Woodlief McCabe ’23
Staff Writer
A small desert town in the midst of the Cold War, a science competition for kid geniuses and an alien landing: these are all part of the play at the center of “Asteroid City,” Wes Anderson’s newest film. The film frames itself as an anthology television series retelling the history of a play called “Asteroid City.” We meet the playwright and the actors and gain a description of the setting.
The story kicks off when the play itself begins. By putting these different narratives on top of each other, “Asteroid City” positions itself as a discussion of grief and self-realization. Anderson’s ability to dive deep into the fragility and beauty of the human experience, even within the strangeness of his own style, is what makes him an enduring modern filmmaker.
Film Media Theater major Shelby Smith ’25, who loves Anderson’s work, saw “Asteroid City” at the Cannes Film Festival this summer.
“His style is so specific that any kind of moviegoer can appreciate his craft and attention to detail,” Smith said. “[Anderson] grants casual moviegoers access to a more artistic cinema, one that still follows a narrative storyline and also balances mainstream conventions and abstraction.”
People are drawn to his films because they are accessible to broad audiences without sacrificing their emotional core, which is not necessarily the case with directors known for being highly artistic. Smith recalled a story that Jeffrey Wright, who played General Gibson in the film, told at Cannes.
“He talked about the collaborative project that “Asteroid City” was. He recalled one time on set when in the middle of shooting, [Anderson] stood at the top of one of the buildings in the old western set, built by the incredible production design team of “Asteroid City.” He said that he just took everything in, smiling,” Smith said.
Anderson’s filmmaking is highly stylized, distinguished by a deep appreciation for the art and the people who make the films possible. Each frame is arranged with symmetry in mind, full of vibrant pastels. His films are known for their attention to detail and characters’ idiosyncratic styles of movement and speaking.
They exist in a different world, a plasticine one that seems to come from the absurd familiarity of dreams. “Asteroid City” feels like the pinnacle of Anderson’s work. It operates through artifice: the story of a retelling of fiction.
“Asteroid City” elevates what we already know about Anderson’s filmmaking eye. Behind the hallmarks of what we consider to be his quintessential style are highly creative stories with great emotional depth.
Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenbeck, for instance, plays both an actor and a character. Both are trying to understand where they fit in their lives and the lives of others. Despite all the time rehearsing and performing, the actor still feels as though he does not understand the character he is playing. This is a central moment for him. The show’s director, Schubert Green (Adrien Brody), tells him to keep going — that he is doing it just right.
So many of the characters are scrambling for control in some way. Stanley Zak (Tom Hanks), Auggie’s father in law, disagrees with how his son-in-law and his children are dealing — or not dealing — with the death of their mother. Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johanssen) is an actress who portrays the role of an actress deeply troubled, yet so self-aware that she seems to brush off these troubles entirely.
The town, mostly made of visitors awaiting a once-in-a-lifetime astrological event, is rocked when an alien lands, picks up an asteroid and leaves. Following this, the government puts the town in lockdown, interrogates the inhabitants and plans a cover-up. Like many other Anderson films, it feels like dozens of stories are happening at once, or like you’re listening to two conversations at the same time.
But what makes Anderson so adept at what he does is that none of the stories are overly complicated. We know who these people are, right from the beginning. He does not rely on big reveals to make anything work. Rather, it is about how each story intersects with others, leaving the characters and the audience impacted permanently after their paths have crossed.
In the lead-up to “Asteroid City”, a new trend arose on social media, spearheaded by TikTok. Videos with titles like “going to the grocery store but it’s a Wes Anderson movie” and “if Wes Anderson directed my day at University,” imitating the director’s distinct cinematographic style, began popping up and going viral. Some were short film quality, edited with creative text and set design, with others simply turning up the color saturation and adding a quirky soundtrack.
The urge to engage with this style of expression is a testament to how Wes Anderson makes us feel. “Anyone who had a phone could test their ability to see the world in the same way as [Anderson], and I think it inspired many people to appreciate the detail in film and what the medium can create,” Smith pointed out.
The whimsical nature of his films invites the audience in. They exist in a dream-like world we cannot help but want to explore and emulate. Regardless of skill and commitment, these online tributes illustrate the breadth of influence that Anderson has on media consumers. His style is so distinct that even those who may never have seen one of his movies can recognize it, and even replicate his work.
“Even if they don’t know the technical names for [cinematography techniques], they can recognize those patterns in his films,” Smith said.
Of course, in 15 to 60 seconds, it is hard to convey more than just visual elements. The depth of Anderson’s filmmaking can only be gathered from his work as a whole. Anderson’s work is not meant to be consumed through replication or cell phone-sized clips. For Smith, and for many film lovers, knowing how a film was made is important for knowing how to watch it.
“It can be pretty easy to sound pretentious while talking about this, but hear me out: as a filmmaker, there are certain feelings that can only be evoked by total immersion into the world of the film,” Smith said.
“Asteroid City” is a heartwarming, often comical pondering on the futility of trying to know the answers to all of life’s questions. We must all grapple with the unknown, whether it be the presence of an alien, the true nature of the self or if we are doing a good job in the play. It shows once again why Wes Anderson deservedly stands out as an artistic director as well as a household name.