Plot Summary – World-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town circa 1955.

★★★★½ 

Watched 23 Jun 2023

I’ve been thinking about this movie a lot since I watched it. It’s such a visually compelling and structurally unique movie. But I was really conflicted on whether the actual stories had pathos or not. I thought a lot about whether he had anything new to say about grief and loss that he hadn’t explored before. In the end, I came to the conclusion that this movie is largely successful in everything it tries to do. It captures why all the reels that try to ‘mock’ or even recreate the Wes Anderson style are in the end, at worst, shameful imitations with no reverence or respect and at best, highly produced highly symmetrical comedy pieces. I think the whole online trend fails to capture the fact that Wes Anderson is not successful as a filmmaker because of his visual style and idiosyncratic dialogue, its the deep and sincere reliability of his characters and the emotions that he conveys through the medium that makes him such a brilliant auteur. He’s easily in my Top 3 filmmakers simply because of the ethereal and maddeningly planned nature of his film. This film is so beautiful and breathtaking, and yet at its core it’s a very interesting tale about how different people grieve and the complex nature of human relationships in the face of adversity. There are two particular scenes in this movie that made this film so special to me: one is a visual masterpiece of a scene that feels like the culmination of everything that Wes Anderson has made in his career, and the other is a shockingly real and touching scene with an actor that I did not realize was in this movie, that took me completely by surprise. There are like a hundred actors in this movie, most of which are household Hollywood names, coming and doing bit-part roles for Wes, but out of everyone, the two standout performances for me were Scarlett Johansson who shows an incredible range and depth that I had no idea that she was capable of. The other one, who is having a crazy summer, first as The Spot in Across the Spider-Verse and now as the protagonist of this film, is Jason Schwartzmann. His performance is so layered, touching, and beautiful – he makes you laugh out loud and makes you deeply emotional in the same movie and I thought he played his characters with so much depth and a unique personality. I am very happy to follow Wes Anderson to the depths of the Earth and indulge him in any project he embarks on so I might be biased, but I certainly think that this a film worth checking out in theatres!