First Take: Asteroid City - a little bit of everything from Mr Anderson

SYNOPSIS: Following a writer on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.

Wes Anderson. One of the most unique directors currently working in Hollywood, master of both animated and live action features. And definitely a director who has truly found his style - one which has become a meme in and of itself. With his latest, not only has he produced his most ‘Wes Anderson’ movie yet, but also done something truly bonkers: write a play for the stage and adapt it to film, while really screwing with us viewers in the process, German expressionism style.

This is exactly what you would expect from Anderson though, who manages to do all this in a tight 1 hour 45 minutes that runs ‘relentlessly, without a break’ to quote one of the many title cards we get during this story. What ultimately makes this film is the script - yes, casual audiences will not understand the full extent of what is going on within Anderson’s screenplay (for which he worked with Roman Coppola in its early stages of production), and it actually very cleverly references this - the ultimate act of self referential filmmaking. Bob Yeoman once again acts as DOP, with Alexandre Desplat providing the score, reuniting all of the key collaborators for a properly unique tale of what happens when a town (and a playwright) lose their mind.

This cast though, is just pure star power. Jason Schwartzmann, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johannson, Bryan Cranston, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, with Margot Robbie, Edward Norton, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Liev Schrieber, Tony Revolri and more in support… this is a who’s who of talent, some of whom get big roles, and in one particular supporting cast member’s case (who we won’t spoil, or name, to avoid revealing the surprise when their credit comes up) just one line. All that really needs to be said is that this film isn’t your typical multiplex cinema-filling kind of product - it is a product very much of its directors style, and knowledge of his prior work will go a long way to enjoying it fully.

THE VERDICT

If you’ve been an Anderson fan for years, you will 100% get this and enjoy it, like a good majority of a rammed screen 10 last night at Odeon’s monthly Spotlight screenings did - but for the casual cinemagoer, I can see why this has had an incredibly limited run. It is a properly ‘out there’ film, as expected, but this is truly one best enjoyed with a good audience.

RATING: 4/5