by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
The thing about Asteroid City is it’s beautiful to look at. But, otherwise, it can sometimes come across as shrill and overwrought. I will try not to spoil it for you, but, let’s just say it has an….interesting…framing device that is rather convoluted.
But it was interesting. In fact, I never once felt like walking out, which is something I do all the time with movies because I’ve become something of a storytelling snob of late. The more I think about it, the more the movie reminds me of weird movies of the 1990s that I used to see with my girlfriend of the time. They were weird, thought-provoking movies that lingered in your mind.
Of note — the movie was not in any way “woke.” It just told a story that was interesting and thought-provoking. That’s it. It didn’t browbeat you with some sort of overarching Leftist political message. It was not until I had had time to marinate on the movie that this just occurred to me.
Anyway, I liked Asteroid City…I guess? There were elements of it that could easily enrage someone who might not be into the art-house aesthetic. But, lulz, it was nice to see an interesting movie that was Just A Movie, not some sort of political manifesto about how we need to slay the patriarchy.
