More so than than his previous films, Wes Anderson's newest film, superficially a story-within-a-story focusing on one hand on a ragtag ensemble cast in a retro scifi play, and on the other hand on that play's lead writer and its lead cast, may come over as just a handful of colorful vignettes forming a pastiche of postmodernist cinema.
Yet the impeccable cinematography, refined deadpan dialogue, and enjoyable ensemble performances--as are to be expected of Anderson--were further elevated by Scarlett Johansson and Jason Schwartzman's tender chemistry (as much as is possible under Anderson limitations, anyway) in their respective depictions of grief.