Wes Anderson is what would be considered an auteur director. A director who has a singular vision of what he or she is doing from film to film with no studio interference. That is why he’s such a great director who turns out interesting films, whether they’re good or bad, each time out. Asteroid City is his latest film, and it definitely has his flair added in. It may be the one of best films of his career or in recent memory.

Angie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) is a father of four who goes to a town in Arizona for his son’s, Woodrow’s (Jake Ryan) Junior Stargazing Convention. While there, he meets some interesting people and comes afoul of an actual alien. He doesn’t know why he is there, but he steals an important item from the townspeople. This is just half of the story, though. This story has many layers, which is one of Anderson’s signature story beats. He creates a story with a lot of characters that has many layers it.

Anderson loves to have multiple layers in his films. In this case of Asteroid City, it’s a play that is being presented to an audience. The actual production is acted out in vivid muted colorful realism, while the people making the stage production are brought to viewers in black and white. Both sides of the story have very different aesthetics to them, which makes the film stand out on its own merits from Anderson’s other movies he’s written and directed. This one is a singular vision.

One of the things Wes Anderson’s films are mostly known for is his production design and how seamless the practical sets and visual effects are. They look like one and the same a lot of the time during the movie. The color scenes differentiate from the black and white, but both look amazing. He always seems like he ups his game with each subsequent film he does.  The production value has many depths and layors to it which is one of Anderson’s signatures in his films.

Besides the cast members I’ve already mentioned, there is a star-studded cast Anderson has once again assembled for this movie.  There are a group of actors he hadnt worked with before who bring their talents to this movie. Such as Tom Hanks who plays Schwartzman’s father Stanley. He comes to the rescue when he’s needed. Another, Scarlet Johansson plays an actress Midge Campbell who is staying at the local hotel with the rest of the guests who are stuck in this town during a difficult time. Maya Hawke plays a counselor at the Junior Stargazing Conference.  Liev Schriber plays a father who wants to make sure hes not in some weird situation and if his family is okay in this town. A few others are on the other side of this story, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe. All of these actors and many more add their own great elements and originality to the story and film.

I’ve watched a lot of Wes Anderson films from The Royal Tanenbaums to Moonrise Kingdom to The Grand Budapest Hotel. What he creates from film to film is so original and different. The stories are all different and stand on their own while also being distinctly Wes Anderson movies. The skill and craftsmanship he puts into each film are unique and genuinely amazing. The color palet ranges from black and white at times to beautifully muted oranges, yellows, and blues. This town he created is one I would like to visit for sure. It’s like a character in the film all on its own.

Asteroid City is a beautifully crafted movie set in a time that lends itself perfectly to this story so much. The people were dressed and looked the part of people in this period of time in America. All the various departments in this production work in perfect sync with one another. The production design, visual effects costumes, hair, and make-up are all terrific. They go so well with the story Anderson crafted. I was completely interested and invested by this world he created. This is one of my favorite films of the year so far.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen