‘Asteroid City’
It’s hard to sum Asteroid City up in a few words. In color, it’s the play Asteroid City — the story of paranormal world-changing events intersecting with a junior stargazers gathering in a small desert town. In black and white, the making of the play Asteroid City — a TV broadcast ushered along by the host (Bryan Cranston) — treats viewers to the behind-the-scenes of the play’s creation, from its inception by the playwright (Edward Norton) all the way through the eventual first preview performance. The film utilizes a starry ensemble cast — ScarJo! Jeffrey Wright! Tom Hanks! Tilda Swinton! — to tell these stories, but Wes Anderson staple Jason Schwartzman is the MVP. He portrays Jones Hall, an actor who inspires the playwright to write newly-widowed war photographer Augie Steenbeck in black and white, and then Augie himself in color. It’s through both Jones and Augie that the stories’ common themes start to come to the surface; Asteroid City, any way you slice it, is about the unknowns of grief and the way life keeps on moving despite it. Perhaps the fictional director Schubert Green (Adrien Brody) actually sums it up best, responding to Jones saying he doesn’t understand the play: “It doesn’t matter. Just keep telling the story.”