Numerous Wes Anderson fanatics have patiently awaited his new film Asteroid City, whose grand premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival garnered lots of attention. The movie’s official synopsis is that “World-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of the Junior Stargazer convention in an American desert town circa 1955.”
Wes Anderson is my favorite filmmaker, and with him deliberately keeping this movie vague, I was enraptured to see what he had planned. But I realized the dissipating truth when I sat down to watch the movie in theaters. the description was vague because the movie itself had virtually no plot. It was so dialogue-heavy yet they were saying nothing, it was an hour and forty-five minutes of droning, frustrating filler.
Despite the film’s seemingly nonsensical plot, the final scene’s clever fourth wall breaks attempt to tie up the loose ends and leave the audience with a satisfying conclusion. After revealing that the events of the movie are an amateur stage show, the cast looks at the audience and grimly repeats the line, “You can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep.” until the credits roll. At first glance, a seemingly nonsensical oxymoron and sloppy writing on Anderson’s part. But, given the viewers meaning, this oxymoron is worth in-depth analysis. Sleeping is many things: being stuck in your small town, living in fear, complacent, or whatever keeps you from dreaming. While waking up is the opposite, leaving, becoming free, falling in love, discovering the secrets of the universe, mourning the loss of a mother. Both to the characters and the audience, Anderson declares we can not thrive without tribulations. we are all asleep in one way or another, we all need to wake up and fulfill our dreams. An inspirational concluding message; but unfortunately, it was not enough to salvage this otherwise lackluster film. Despite one profound scene, the rest of the almost two-hour runtime is filled with nonsensical plotlines and lazy writing. While art is subjective, it’s hard to argue that an indescribable and plotless movie can be considered art.
The Signature Anderson color, cinimatography, and overall vibes of there, but considering this movie was showing alongside two of the most highly anticipated films of the year: Barbie and Oppenheimer, it just falls short. Wes Anderson, like any artist, creates for himself first and foremost. However, there is a fine line between self-indulgent and unwatchable. 6/10 decent for streaming, but did not deserve a theatrical release. Anderson has let me down.
