«Asteroid City», a cloying formalism!

Wes Anderson is probably the most recognizable of contemporary filmmakers. With his symmetrical shots, absurdist humor and pastel colors, the American filmmaker has established his own style. But has he locked himself into his own pattern with Asteroid City?

A fictional Midwestern town sandwiched between nuclear tests and a meteorite crater, Asteroid City hosts an annual science contest for children with a passion for the cosmos. In 1955, however, a surprising visitor from outer space upsets the balance and forces the authorities to confine all participants to the festivities.

From the very first shot, Asteroid City is identifiable as an Anderson film. The frames are meticulous and the use of black and white recalls his previous works. Here, a host (Bryan Cranston,known for his role in Breaking Bad) announces that the story we're about to hear is a play. It's a strange plot device, but one that punctuates the entire story. What follows is a traveling from a train to Asteroid City, the main scene of events. With the various protagonists introduced (many, many protagonists), the author takes viewers on a zany mishmash of millimeter shots and finely-tuned panoramas. But something's not quite right.

Disorder in orderly surroundings

While all the characters are interesting, even funny (the main protagonist's three daughters, hilariously offbeat and darkly humorous, unfortunately don't get enough screen time for their potential), there are too many of them to be really exploited. In fact, the opening narrator has to introduce the characters, played by fictitious stage actors, who will interpret the play (in black and white) performed in the film (in color). Be careful not to blink, or you risk missing one or other appearance, the importance of which is yet to be determined. The film's rushed pace creates an initial barrier for viewers, who find themselves overwhelmed by information and unsure of what to retain. In the end, only a few of them are really important, while the rest merely serve to fill the frame.

At the same time, the plot is very simplistic. The pivotal role in the story is played by Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman); his relationship with Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) is probably the best surprise. All finesse and restraint, it weaves a red thread into a disjointed narrative that, once the dots are connected, doesn't stray far from its initial summary. Even the mess heralded by the arrival of an alien (played by a useless Jeff Goldblum) doesn't have enough impact to really move the film forward. It makes you wonder whether the director would have benefited from eliminating the alien plot, in order to breathe a little more life into the story, which is already weighed down by an embedded narrative whose threads cross at several points.

Too much meta kills the meta

If there's one element of storytelling that's particularly tricky to manage, it's narrative interweaving. The challenge of interweaving narrative lines that are not supposed to meet is a real headache when it comes to writing. In Asteroid City, At first glance, the theater-cinema-narrator interlock seems clear. In reality, it quickly becomes confusing as the characters leave the «cinema» field through a door (literally) to arrive backstage in the «theater», in black and white, and complain about their actions. While the comic potential is interesting, it quickly turns into a kind of unraveling, even a clearing up: a narrative that justifies the lack of coherence and the stumbling of the script.

Read also | Isle of Dogs, a complete work of art

However, it would be unfair to knock this film too much, as its dollhouse atmosphere is astonishing. The use of digital effects and miniature inlays enriches the work on proportions; Anderson, a great narrator, manipulates the little characters. Although it lacks any real dramaturgy to keep us on the edge of our seats, Asteroid City is still a good film, in which the plethora of celebrities commands respect, as it seemed unthinkable that they would all be directed in exemplary fashion.

Write to the author: mathieu.vuillerme@leregardlibre.com

You've just read an open-access review. Debates, analysis, cultural news: subscribe to support us and get access to all our content!