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- Wes Anderson's highly-anticipated Asteroid City, which counts on an ensemble cast (like many of the filmmaker's movies) and an intriguing premise revolving around a Space Cadet convention held in a desert town, is set to hit theatres on June 16. Many distinctive elements of Anderson's work can be seen in the movie trailer, including symmetry and a washed-out color palette. But are aesthetics all there is to the director's style?
There is no doubt that Wes Anderson is one of the most influential and accomplished directors of our time. Throughout the years, his work has inspired many; surely, the director's enviable creativity never ceases to amaze anyone who appreciates cinema. The filmmaker debuted his first motion picture, Bottle Rocket, in 1996 and has been actively fascinating people with his distinctive art ever since.
Whether one appreciates Anderson's style or not, it is an undeniable fact that the filmmaker has made a name for himself in the film industry, and it is hardly difficult to recognize one of his films by its aesthetics alone. But what is that truly makes Anderson's work so characteristic?
Updated on May 20, 2023, by Daniela Gama:
Wes Anderson's highly-anticipated Asteroid City, which counts on an ensemble cast (like many of the filmmaker's movies) and an intriguing premise revolving around a Space Cadet convention held in a desert town, is set to hit theatres on June 16. Many distinctive elements of Anderson's work can be seen in the movie trailer, including symmetry and a washed-out color palette. But are aesthetics all there is to the director's style?
10 Frequent Collaborators
Often counting on a talented cast filled with well-known faces, Wes Anderson doesn't shy away from resorting to the same actors several times. Bill Murray is a frequent collaborator when it comes to the director's art cast, having starred in nine of his films so far, including The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The French Dispatch most recently.
Owen Wilson is also a recurring face from the very beginning of Anderson's career; he landed his first role in the filmmaker's directorial debut film Bottle Rocket, having co-written it as well.
9 '60s and '70s Music
Not only is his art pleasing to the eye but to the ear as well: regularly licensing the work of iconic musicians such as The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, you can nearly always count on Anderson to feature some legendary '60s and '70s folk-pop classics at some point in his movies.
For example, The Beatles' iconic “Hey Jude” is featured in The Royal Tenenbaums as well as Bob Dylan's "Wigwam." These result in some of the most unforgettable scenes in his films.
8 Chapter-Like Structure
Frequently breaking his movies up into chapters, Anderson is fond of presenting the story to the audience as if viewers were reading a novel. These pauses have become a recognizable part of Wes Anderson's style.
While splitting his films into different parts doesn't necessarily have any profound and hidden meaning behind it (possibly done for the sake of aesthetics), it ultimately is a characteristic thing in his work that reflects a bit of his own style and personality.
7 Dysfunctional Families
Dysfunctional families seem to be a recurring theme in the filmography of the talented director, which may be due to the fact that his parents divorced when he was only eight. Among the tumultuous events, Anderson discovered his passion for storytelling and since then has been fascinating people with his incredible artwork, which often shines a light on family matters.
Looking back on his movies, The Royal Tenenbaums is a dive into the struggles of a dysfunctional family, and The Darjeeling Limited centers around the story of three brothers who travel across India by train in an attempt to bond with each other. It seems that parenting certainly plays a role in Anderson’s movies; from dead parents to absent fathers, almost every character has been greatly affected by similar issues.
6 Deadpan Humor
Although it may not appeal to everyone, Anderson's quirky and light deadpan humor – that almost feels his own in a way – is also a big part of most of his films and can frequently only be properly appreciated when the viewer is familiar with the characters the film features and the situations they find themselves in.
Because they don't show many emotions often and thus come off as a bit flat due to how non-reactive and emotionally repressed they are, Anderson's characters frequently express themselves in limited ways, including through the usage of dry humor (a big part of Wes Anderson's film style).
5 Recurring Themes like Love, Family, and Death
Family is, among other themes, a very recurrent trademark in Anderson's films. Aside from dysfunctional families, friends, love, and death frequently play a part in his movies, too.
As a filmmaker who is very keen on exploring human connection, the quirky director loves to showcase the importance of bonds in his films, for better or for worse. Forbbiden love seems to be a very prominent topic, as well as the importance of personal space.
4 Slow Motion
Sure, slo-mo isn't an exclusive Wes Anderson technique; there are a lot of people doing it, including Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. The thing is, each time Anderson does it, it just works. Apart from capturing the rapid motion of characters, it also helps emphasize the scene.
Moonrise Kingdom, for instance, features a beautifully shot scene that resorted to the technique; it subtly highlights the significance of a cinematic moment by slowing down time.
3 Quirky Costume Design
It's not only symmetry, retro touches, and color palettes that make a Wes Anderson film. Costume design is also an undeniable part of Wes Anderson's aesthetic. Anderson tends to dress his characters in unusual clothes and accessories – of course, considering the director's distinguishable style, it only makes sense that the imaginary people that star in his films are, too, fashionable to a flaw.
Imagine a world where the clothing a character wears holds the same relevance as the movie script – that's a Wes Anderson film. At the end of the day, Anderson's working style is himself. And that is exactly what makes his films so irrevocably genuine.
2 Color Palette
Anyone who is remotely familiar with the quirky filmmaker's work sure enough knows that almost every film of his has a very specific and stylized color palette that carries throughout the whole movie. Always the one to pay attention to detail, Wes selects his colors with meticulous precision and often sticks to them through costume and set design – everything matches in the most satisfying and aesthetically pleasing kind of way.
It is also worth mentioning that colors can be connected to emotions based on how you mix them, often helping define and complete the world setting of the film, which also helps with storytelling.
1 Symmetry
Through the wide lens and gorgeous dollhouse-like set design, Anderson has always been the kind of director who enjoys resorting to symmetry when composing a shot. Whether it be people or objects perfectly placed in the middle of the frame, the result always turns out to be nothing short of gorgeous.
Not only does this technique look pleasing to the eye, but it also provides the scene with a sense of harmony and balance. Take, for instance, the picture above: If one were to fold a straight line in the middle of one of the four shots, both sides would match perfectly.