Film Review: Showroom celebrates Wes Anderson’s new film with full retrospective

Starting from 23 June, Showroom Cinema will be exploring the enigmatic appeal of Wes Anderson by screening all of his feature films to date in our aptly titled, Westival.

Bursting onto the indie scene in 1996 with debut film Bottle Rocket, an expansion of his short film of the same name, Anderson’s vision and ambitions expanded with the impressive comedies Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. Anderson then launched fully into increasing scale and vision with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Grand Budapest Hotel and his thirst for innovation never slowed, including branching into animated family films with The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs.

Part of Anderson’s appeal is, of course, the heavyweight ensemble acting talent his films attract and his new film, Asteroid City, is the starriest to date. Even the biggest star names like Margot Robbie are willing to appear for mere minutes. In Robbie’s case, her short time on set is rewarded with a gorgeous monochrome close-up, one of the film’s most arresting moments.

Aside from the hip cred of appearing in a Wes Anderson film, the appeal for actors comes from the originality of Anderson’s whip-smart screenplays, with dialogue that thespians are desperate to deliver. Capable of creating substantial star vehicles for contemporary A-Listers and meaty, memorable parts for career character actors like Anjelica Huston, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe to name but a few. Anderson’s regular collaborators, including comedians Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, have also been able to enjoy roles that add pathos to their hilarity.

Asteroid City premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and ever the mild-mannered dandy, Anderson brought along a cast of stars so large that they had to be ferried to the red carpet by coach. Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Carrell, Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston and Maya Hawke were among the many faces from the film on the bus. It’s hard to imagine many other directors that could inspire such stars to climb aboard.

Westival: A Wes Anderson Retrospective features all of his films from 23 June - 7 July. Tickets: https://www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/westival