Netflix viewers can now watch an ‘utterly enchanting’ Wes Anderson film starring a string of Hollywood actors.
First released in 2023, the science fiction comedy drama Asteroid City was written, directed and produced by Anderson based on a story he wrote with Roman Coppola.
The plot follows a play about a Junior Stargazer convention in a retrofuturistic version of 1955, but ‘it becomes metatextual because the making of the play is the subject of a television documentary’.
‘The story is about extraterrestrials and UFOs witnessed in the American Southwestern desert in close proximity to atomic test sites after World War II,’ it’s been teased.
The movie features an ensemble cast including Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie and Jeff Goldblum.
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During its cinematic run, Asteroid City grossed $54 million (£40 million) worldwide on a $25 million (£18 million) budget.
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The movie – which holds a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – was largely praised by critics and audiences.
‘Asteroid City’s eccentricity, its elegance, its gaiety, and its sheer profusion of detail within the tableau frame make it such a pleasure,’ The Guardian wrote in its review.
‘There has always been a method to Wes Anderson’s madness, but Asteroid City reminds you that there is also a madness to his method. And that, ultimately, is what makes him a great artist,’ New York Magazine wrote.
‘Asteroid City is visually arresting but with a grounded, charming, and considered script that confronts themes of parenthood and grief, as well as the transporting power of both stargazing and daydreaming. It is an easy film to love,’ Vogue added.
Meanwhile viewers called it ‘unique’ and ‘spectacular’.
This week it was made available on Netflix, with fans and new viewers able to watch it just in time for the weekend.
In an interview with Metro Cranston, best known for starring as Walter White in Breaking Bad, admitted he was often left confused by Anderson’s prescriptive auteur style.
The actor, who plays the narrator, confessed he found making Asteroid City a ‘very difficult’ experience and was often left thinking ‘what does it mean?’.
‘It’s so specific and so dense with detail that I had to read the script a few times to really get a sense of what we’re doing,’ he said.
‘We can only take a glimpse into the head of Wes Anderson. We can’t live there. That’s his domain. We can only visit.’
However, he added the movie was a ‘nice surprise’.
Asteroid City is now streaming on Netflix.
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