Not a Book: Asteroid City

I actually had a couple of things I was noodling about writing about today. But in the end, I’ve gone for the new Wes Anderson movie because it came out in theatres here this week.

So lets do the plot – and it should be said that this may be the most Wes Anderson-y of all of his plots – it starts with a TV host introducing you to a tv production of a play in which a war photographer’s car breaks down in the town where he and his family were heading for the junior Stargazer’s convention. The action from the play is interspersed with the history of the play’s original production complete with recreations of what was going on backstage. Or at least that’s what I think is going on. Have a watch of the trailer.

If you’re ticking off Andersonian tricks and tropes it’s got the changes in aspect ratios, the vivid color pallettes, completely stylised universes etc. Not that you see all of that in the trailer – which is entirely of the production of the play. So that was a bit of a shock for me when the film started! If you like Wes Anderson, this is absolutely Peak Wes Anderson and the critical response appears to be: if you like Wes Anderson already, then you’ll like this but it probably won’t convert anyone new. And I would agree with that – I enjoyed it and it was fun, but it wasn’t my favourite. Him Indoors said on the walk home that he preferred The French Dispatch – and Grand Budapest Hotel over both of them. I could have used a bit more plot but I love the whole look of it and I also loved spotting all the regulars and all the quirky weirdness of it. Like the roadrunner.

Basically if you want a Wes Anderson coming of age movie set at an Astronomy convention in the desert, this is that.

Have a good Sunday everyone