The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson found critical and commercial success ten years ago with The Grand Budapest Hotel, which was also the first film of his I ever saw, and I enjoyed it. The story flowed along well with his visual style, sharp screenplay and witty characters against a colourful backdrop. Then there was the animated Isle of Dogs in 2018 which I thought was good even if I didn't quite care for it as much as others did. Later that year he began filming The French Dispatch which would have its release delayed due to Covid until 2021 as Anderson marked his return to live-action.

The story follows a fictional newspaper in a fictional 1960s French town where the American editor has just died. This disrupts all plans for the journalists as they must now, in the editor's wishes, publish four articles along with his obituary. The articles cover a wide range of characters across multiple years and the film is broken down into several chapters exploring these all in detail. 

The French Dispatch will certainly appeal to fans of Anderson's work, who have loved all of his films, but this will be a step too far for others. I fall within the latter as each story drags on for far too long and Anderson's quirks often became quite grating as I felt little reason to care for any of the events. None of the articles overlap in anyway so there was the opportunity for an engaging series of short stories but it's all too cold and emotionally distant which made the 108 running time feel like 180 minutes. 

I don't mean to be harsh though as the film certainly has its merits; the production design, music and shot composition is all perfectly tuned together with a high attention to detail, which has become a staple of Anderson's work. The starry cast are also great, with Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton and Jeffrey Wright being some of the standouts who handle the script with ease, and the film has a lot to say; I just wish it gave me a reason to care. 

The French Dispatch is certainly not a case of style-over-substance but more an example of needing a tighter execution with a few more drafts to make all the pieces come together in harmony. I don't doubt there will be many who disagree but this is one film I can only recommend if you have enjoyed all of Anderson's work to this point. Otherwise, prepare to feel blindsided for over 90 minutes with sounds and moving pictures that may leave you out in the dark.