Review: Asteroid City (2023)
“I still don’t understand the play.”
Asteroid City is a complicated film for me. Ever since watching ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ back when I was a kid, I was immediately taken aback by the usual tropes that people praise Wes Anderson’s pictures for. Their symmetry, the dialogue, the portrayal of the human condition, and the stories within stories. And as I grew older, I’m able to see more parts of his work that are hiding in plain sight, not only that, but in ‘The French Dispatch’ I can see Anderson in his work more than ever. But with Asteroid City, I might just be able to see myself.
Asteroid City is a complicated film for me. As I watch the freight train chug onwards on its way to the vastness of the desert, accompanied by the rolling credits, I wonder to myself, “Was that intentional?” Was this picture, with all its apparent contradictions, messy plotlines, and a seeming lack of the usual emotional story beats that Wes Anderson is known for, a deliberate decision? I don’t think I’ll ever get an answer to that question. But with the time that I spent on watching the film, I realized that Asteroid City may be a way of Anderson reflecting on his own work, to tell a story about himself.
The film holds on tightly to the artifice that “This is just a fictional piece of work” Going so far as to mention it multiple times to try to convince us that whatever it is we’re seeing in Asteroid City, are mere tales, made by another human being for whatever the reason may be. But the artifice here is crucial in understanding what the film is about. This time, the artifice is the story.
“He was looking for an excuse why his heart was beating so fast.”
As the film goes on, we see Jones Hall beginning to question certain aspects of the play, not understanding why his character, Augie Steenbeck, does certain things. But this confusion is also shared by the playwright, Conrad Earp, albeit in a more accepting manner, where he is not certain why he wrote the play the way that he did. This particular aspect of the film speaks volumes as to what Anderson is trying to tell the audience.
Wes Anderson has honed his craft so much that not only does he shape his own work, but his work is shaping him. What does one do when the art you make starts living on its own, starts existing with or without you? And what does one do when one’s style of direction and set design is so eye-catching and so distinctive that you might as well be one of the most easily recognizable directors in the 21st century.
Asteroid City is Wes Anderson talking to himself, just like the dare kid that yearns to be remembered, just like Woodrow that wants to leave a legacy, and just like Jones, his pictures always come out. No matter how many soulless A.I. imitations that the lizard tech-bros might conjure up or how many people keep telling him how formulaic his story-telling techniques have become. Wes Anderson will keep doing what he does best, even when he doesn’t understand it, even when his tropes seem lifeless and have diminished in value. He will continue because this is what he does best.
What does that say to me personally? I am not an artist whatsoever, I’m barely a functioning student, but what I do know is that I recognize the same feeling that Anderson is trying to holistically convey in this new picture. I have been confused as to what my role is, I have often doubted if this is all there is, is there more to this life than being who I am? And I’m not sure if this feeling of struggling to navigate through this vast desert of constant information bombardment and the unpredictability of modern life, is shared by my peers. I’m not sure if I will ever know.
What I do know is that Asteroid City is a complicated film for me, on one hand it speaks to me on a level that I don’t think any film has had before and it helped me convey a certain feeling of mine in a way that I’m not even capable of. But on the other hand, I might be wrong on all of the things I have said. Maybe it is just another overly teal and symmetrical flick from Wes Anderson where the story is serviceable and the aspect ratio is quirky, but at least its nice to look at. But I sincerely hope that amidst the confusion, grief, and pain, that when the time is right, and our cue is on, maybe all we need to do is play our part right.
