This Rock

A solemnly earnest group of people of various backgrounds gather in 2023's Asteroid City. Wes Anderson, more than ever with this film, seems intent more on creating an aesthetic than a story. It's a nice aesthetic but, even though it's not a very long film, under two hours, it feels a bit too long.

The saturated colour seems meant to resemble 1950s postcards from Arizona or New Mexico. Or Monument Valley, which the deliberately artificial backgrounds seem to evoke.

It kind of reminds me of the desert stage in Mario Kart 64 shot in Eastmancolor. The mid-50s atomic space age humour reminded me of the Fallout games.

Jason Schwartzman plays a war photographer having trouble emotionally processing his wife's recent death. The wife is played by Margot Robbie and although she doesn't have a scene as the character, she has a brief scene as the fictional actress playing the character (the whole movie has a "film within a film" structure) which was kind of a nice idea for a haunting.

Scarlett Johansson plays a famous actress plagued with depression. She has a brief nude scene, the most exciting scene in the film. Andserson's movies are not usually devoid of excitement. His deadpan humour belies it a bit but also enhances it. Aside from that one nude scene, which is a flirtation between her and Schwartzman, Asteroid City never quite gets on its feet but lies drowsing in the haze of deadpan.

Bill Murray was originally cast in the film but had to drop out due to having contracted Covid. He did, however, appear in a promotional short for the film. He evidently wanted to be involved so badly he showed up to set and Anderson improvised the short just before sets were dismantled. I am posting the short here in the effort to boost the Bill Murray signal.

Asteroid City is available on Amazon Prime.

X Sonnet #1803

On saintly snow, a desert mind was sunk.
With fire low, the sky arose to suns.
A child calls a query placed a dunk.
By oven lamps, the frosting slowly runs.
Desult-ry pieces puke across the board.
Descending teeth revealed the bloody gums.
Reflective disks comprise the holy hoard.
Increasing gloom enhanced the beating drums.
A whirl of rain has clogged the busy sky.
Tomato suns reveal a brood of seeds.
Another life consigns the shirt to dye.
A tiger watched behind the shaking weeds.
Deserting days confer a final hare.
With running rodents, carrots wouldn't dare.