Asteroid City: it is often said, even here, that Wes Anderson’s films are an acquired taste due to his peculiar sensibilities and particular aesthetics. In this film, he is probably at his most intense and abstract as he tells the story of a group of people stuck in a small city in the middle of nowhere, named (not surprisingly) Asteroid City. Except the movie is not really that, but a television show portraying the production of a play with that same name. But it’s not really that either, or rather, it is much more. The layered structure allows Anderson to play with quirks: the film justifies his visual precision (which some would call artificial), explains the tone of his performances, and jokes with his recent penchant for stories-within-stories-within-stories structure.

A lot of his usual troupe is back, both above and below the line. Production designer Adam Stockhausen contributes with two great sets, the quaint little desert town and the television show insides. Costume designer Milena Canonero dresses everyone in lovely clothes, giving each character their own identity that way. Cinematographer Robert Yeoman captures it all with the signature camera flourishes of Anderson’s work. This trio, as usual, gives the film a very particular and recognizable look. Composer Alexandre Desplat’s musical score is lovely, and the licensed songs used fit the film perfectly.

The cast is enormous, a mix of veterans and newcomers with the director. The performances are in his usual key, droll, barely emotional, and with precise comic timing. Jason Schwartzman is the closest thing to a protagonist, and he is great as the war photographer who hides the death of his wife from their four (preternaturally brilliant) children; his grief, however much he tries to hide, is clear and touching. Scarlett Johansson, playing a movie star who also carries a world of hurt, is equally touching. The two main kids, his son and her daughter, played respectively by Jake Ryan and Grace Edwards, are lovely.

This may well be the least accessible of Wes Anderson’s films, but that doesn’t make it one iota less interesting or emotionally rich.