You Can't Wake Up If You Don't Fall Asleep
★★★★☆
Directed by Wes Anderson
The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
A unique and consistent cinematic voice is a rarity these days but Wes Anderson delivers another pastel-infused character piece transporting the audience to the American desert with the extra-terrestrial Asteroid City.
A huge cast fills the screen as familiar faces arrive for the Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention. There are Anderson vets like Jason Schwartzman and Jeff Goldblum but now even Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson are jumping on the bandwagon, all leaving their own distinct fingerprints on the film.
As Wes Anderson moved into the late 2010s / early 2020s not only did he continue to experiment with his own style but structure. Deconstructing the traditional three-act structure in his own particular way as a story within a play within a film.
My Sunday afternoon screening was fuller than I expected which only added to the experience when the room continuously broke into laughter at the absurd moments and humour throughout.
It's easy to call Wes Anderson original, even reinventing genres when adapting existing work. However, it is so exciting to walk into a film that somehow feels familiar while often treading completely new and untouched ground.
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