The French Dispatch (2021)

[Eric Duncan]

Discuss

[Webslinger]

Regardless of where a viewer falls on the film itself, there is no denying that The French Dispatch is the most Wes Anderson of Wes Anderson’s filmography to date. For fans of the shamelessly eccentric and stylistic writer-director, it will be a delight – even if it ultimately feels slight in the face of his more focused accomplishments. For those not on Anderson’s wavelength… well, why would someone in that camp even bother with his films at this point? Though I will admit that this film is my least favorite of his work since The Darjeeling Limited, it is still a creative and endlessly entertaining romp that bears all the strengths and eccentricities of its creator with pride. The decision to structure the film as dramatic representations of period magazine articles is creative to say the least, and this style will undoubtedly alienate viewers expecting a more straightforward and coherent story; for those willing to buy into what Anderson is selling, however, it is a fun journey through three different yet largely enjoyable storylines (plus a clever frame story and an amusing early bit before it launches into the main stories). The enormous cast comprises a mix of Anderson veterans and newbies, and all fit perfectly within Anderson’s sensibilities. The visual elements of the film are every bit as sumptuous as one would expect from an Anderson film, even considering the fact that a not-insignificant amount of the running time is spent in black-and-white. Ultimately, the film’s episodic structure makes it feel less potent than much of Anderson’s other fare, but it’s still clearly a labor of love and inventiveness, and its charms will prove difficult to resist for fans of his previous work.

 

B+

[MOVIEGUY]

On 11/7/2021 at 12:13 AM, Webslinger said:

Though I will admit that this film is my least favorite of his work since The Darjeeling Limited

 

 

Agree with this. I enjoyed this like I've enjoyed all his films thus far. If you're a fan of his work you'll probably like this, if you don't like his style of filmmaking there's really no reason to watch this, it's not going to win you over. Honestly I mainly enjoyed the movie on a visual level. The film just throws so many characters at you, and LOTS of information about all those characters, I was just trying to keep up with what was going on (I seriously don't know what the hell Christoph Waltz is doing in the movie. He plays an uninvited dinner guest who upsets Frances McDormand for some reason and has like 3 lines. Why?). Seems like ever since Grand Budapest his movies are becoming these increasingly intricate puzzles that take more than one viewing to figure out (I didn't connect emotionally with Isle of Dogs at all until my second watch, now I love that one).

 

The standouts in the cast were Jeffrey Wright and Tilda Swinton. Wright brought a real gravitas and melancholy to his role, he's just a damn good actor, and you can tell Swinton has a blast playing these kind of batty weirdos. I also quite enjoyed Owen Wilson's brief segment, his cadence is just perfect for Anderson's dialogue. Adrien Brody's explanation of modern art was also very funny.

 

Edited November 19, 2021 by MOVIEGUY

[filmlover]

This was definitely a Wes Anderson movie, alright. Fairly enjoyable and excellent from a technical standpoint, but a very minor entry in the director's filmography overall. B-