Asteroid City – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

ASTEROID CITY – Review by Sarah Vincent

June 22, 2023January 7, 2024 Sarah Vincent (archived contributor) Asteroid City, Jason Schwartzman, Margot Robbie, scarlett johansson, Wes Anderson

Shot in black and white on a black box theater set in a 1957 television studio, Wes Anderson regular Jason Schwartzman plays actor Jones Hall, who seduces playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) after landing the role of Augie Steenbeck in Earp’s latest play, the titular Asteroid City. This intimate backstory is one of several behind-the-scenes vignettes about the production of Earp’s final work, which is shot in color – a dreamy, Southwest-evoking palette of teal, orange and tan. A recent widower, single dad and former war photographer, Augie is one of many offbeat parents taking their gifted children to the 1955 Junior Stargazer convention. A brief extraterrestrial visit interrupts the proceedings, triggering a government-imposed quarantine with no travel and no communication with the outside world and sparking a widespread crisis about the meaning of life.

Reviews

ASTEROID CITY – Review by Diane Carson

June 18, 2023September 4, 2023 Diane Carson Alexandre Desplat, Asteroid City, bryan cranston, Edward Norton, focus features, Wes Anderson

A who’s who of over twenty fine actors contribute fabulous, droll interpretations to characters’ encounters and collisions. Deriving maximum comic effect from all this, director Wes Anderson presents his skewed humor as if nothing could be more natural or normal. Alexandre Desplat’s music interprets and complements the ambiance as the film shape shifts through topics: science and science fiction, musicals and heartfelt romance, existential drama and philosophical treatise. All this is embedded in an hour forty-five minutes of fabulous entertainment.