Review by Stargrazingreviews

Some directors improve with popularity and age and others start with a spark that is diminished over time. Looking back Anderson's Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums and later Moonrise Kingdom stand fathoms ahead of his last 3 outputs, with compelling stories, characters, heart and needledrops that made him a fan favourite. Recently he's become consumed by aesthetics and his movies play like a characature of his peak. The once charming symmetry, over saturation, pastels and idiosyncratic characters are as distinctive as ever but without an emotional grounding they've moved from sweet to nauseating. I hope he finds his footing again as there's still some joy to be found in his worldbuiling but without substance it's hard to invest. Schwartzman is still as always a standout in the bloated cast and had cemented himself as Anderson's greatest on screen collaborator and Johansen plays her role mysterious and fun but the rest of the cast is largely underutilized especially the comedic brilliance of Steve Carrel. The absence of recognisable needledrops from the usual bag of the Rolling Stones, Kinks and Cat Stevens is disappointing too. I hope this is the movie that serves as a wake-up call and gets this once masterful director back to his roots but I feel it's just a step down the hill of his ever growing idiosyncratic ego trip.