The French Dispatch: Movie Review (No Spoilers)
Wes Anderson strikes gold with a humorous tale built like a periodical.
I like to think of writer/director Wes Anderson as the master of the small story told big and bold. He’s a quirky, sensitive and highly cinematic storyteller with a string of arthouse hits including Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fans of Anderson’s style will be thrilled with his latest offering, The French Dispatch (currently streaming on HBO Max).
Anderson likes to populate his projects with stars and The French Dispatch (of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun) ensemble anthology is no exception, employing big names like Benicio del Toro, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Francis McDormand, Owen Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Timothee Chalamet and Lea Seydoux. And every one of them is rewarded with a vibrant character to inhabit. Even the minor roles are meaty enough to draw recognizable names in the vein of Henry Winkler, Bob Balaban, Elizabeth Moss, Christoph Waltz, Leiv Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan and Mathieu Amalric.
The French Dispatch is a love letter to a dying (if not dead) journalism industry: the small, foreign magazine publication rostered by eccentric expats. Set in the fictional French City of Ennui-sur-Blase, the film chronicles the stories of various correspondents, taking us on a heartfelt journey through insanity, love, idealism, work, food and the glory of the written word.
Structured in a magazine format, the film essentially follows each writer as they develop their stories for the final issue of the magazine, run by Bill Murray’s character. The magazine’s stories include submissions in “The Cycling Reporter,” “The Concrete Masterpiece” (in the Arts and Artists section), followed by “Revisions to a Manifesto,” (in the Politics/Poetry section and “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner” (in the Tastes & Smells section).
The strongest story is “The Concrete Masterpiece” with Tilda Swinton, Benicio del Toro, Adrian Brody and Lea Seydoux, but all of the pieces are wonderfully realized sandboxes for the assembled acting talent. Highly recommended for all Wes Anderson fans.
MOVIE RATING: 8.5 out of 10 (on the Wes Anderson scale)
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