“Asteroid City” (2023) written and directed by Wes Anderson / Z-View

Asteroid City (2023)

Director:  Wes Anderson

Screenplay:  Wes Anderson; story by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Hope Davis, Steve Park, Liev Schreiber, Steve Carell, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Rita Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie and Matt Dillon.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Set up as a television documentary of a play written by a famous playwright, Asteroid City follows the story of the play as well as the making of it.  The play is in color and widescreen. Set in an imagined 1950s where futuristic and retro designs are merged.  The behind the scenes “making of” is in black and white, television ratio.

The play concerns the happenings at a Science convention for children being held in Asteroid City.  When a UFO appears, the military gets involved.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was attracted to Asteroid City because of it’s amazing cast and the look of the trailer.  It is interesting at the start, but when the movie was over I felt like I’d seen an experimental play that fell short.  It’s not terrible and it held my attention, but left me feeling flat.  Your mileage may vary.

Asteroid City (2023) earns 2 of 5 stars.