The French Dispatch (2021)
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bill Murray, Lea Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright, Benicio del Toro
Primary genre: Comedy
Secondary genre: Anthology
“The French Dispatch” is Wes Anderson’s most indulgent film to date. All of the known trademarks of the eccentric filmmaker are present but cranked up to 11. While it definitely will not win any new fans with his meticulously arranged aesthetic and cast mannerisms, “The French Dispatch” is a wonderful love letter to a forgotten era - where newspapers were a major (and sometimes the only) source of information: from politics to travel reviews, from art to food presentations.
With a vast ensemble at his disposal that clearly relishes the opportunity to work with the renowned director, “The French Dispatch” is being structured in a maganize/newspaper format, told by five segments (six if you include the present storyline) about the eponymous newspaper and its strict editor-in-chief (portrayed by a dead faced Bill Murray). It is an original framing device that provides the opportunity for Anderson at the height of his creativity to stage each segment presented in a different visual style and approach. While its over-arching theme could be seen as a simple excuse for visual panache and somewhat less satisfying than his other films, there is enough quirky context and interactions to please cine-aficionados. Yet, despite a running time of 110 minutes, the movie might be too long for some due to the constant transition between segments, scenes and styles which at the end of the day seem irrelevant with what has come before (an animated and unnecessary car chase comes to mind).
Typically in a Wes Anderson film, “The French Dispatch” excels at phenomenal production design and hand-crafted transitions that are a particular delight to witness on screen and bear a theatrical quality with his symmetric staging. His lens capture fantastic 70’s French inspired sets and props with extreme accuracy that feel more alive when the actors come in. The cast is clearly having a blast by portraying quirky (and sometimes dorky) characters with standouts being Tilda Swinton (no surprise there), Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Lea Seydoux; their entrances complemented by a wonderful (and uplifting) score by Alexandre Desplat and top notch costume design that emphasizes their inner emotions.
With “The French Dispatch”, those who enjoy his work will continue to find elements that are and remain remarkable throughout his eclectic filmography. The committed cast and some well placed laughs guarantee a good time but if you require a bit more substance than an anthology of (slightly) random segments that pay homage to a forgotten era of newspaper dominance, perhaps look somewhere else. Considering though how clone like directors populate the cinema today, “The French Dispatch” is something that only someone like Anderson could make it work.
A love letter to newspapers by an eccentric filmmaker
+Fantastic cast
+Great performances
+Exquisite production design
+Uplifting music by Desplat
+Anderson’s clever transitions
+Admirable ode to a forgotten time
-A bit self-indulgent
-A so what? sentiment is present
-Some stories stick, others not so much