For a director with a very particular sense of style when it comes to composition, storytelling, and writing, Wes Anderson still finds ways to further mine the depths of his creativity to deliver something that feels new, if still inherently “Wes Anderson.” The French Dispatch plays around with the format more than any Anderson film before it, but that also allows the director and his co-writers Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Hugo Guinness to try a lot of different things within the confines of one story.
The French Dispatch uses a unique framing device to tell a series of unique stories. Following the death of its editor, Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), "The French Dispatch of the Liberty Kansas Evening Sun" plans to publish a collection of its most popular articles for one last release.
These stories include a lecture given by J.K.L. Berenson (Tilda Swinton) about famed prisoner turned artist Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio Del Toro), a profile by Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) of a student protest and its young leader, Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet), and the story of a private dinner party that turns into a hostage rescue written by Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright).
Anderson uses framing devices within framing devices to tell these stories, and each is equally entertaining as the last. Because each tale is one part of a larger anthology, there is no need to stretch the narrative further than is necessary; Anderson can indulge his creative urges to their fullest extent and then move on to something new.
In typical Wes Anderson fashion, The French Dispatch is steeped in a sense of humor, timing, and rhythm that are inherent to his work. At this point, viewers either have come to love and expect this specific brand of filmmaking from Anderson and they either love it or hate it. The French Dispatch is superbly engaging from beginning to end, and it has that extra spark of unpredictability. The film can err a little more on the absurd side because it has other stories to help anchor it all together.
And of course, the eclectic cast gives it their all, whether they are in a whole story or just a single scene. The performances are what give Anderson’s work life and yet again they provide full breaths to his vision. He also knows how to accentuate the personalities of his actors to make them fit his brand of humor. They are completely different actors but Frances McDormand is just as funny as Tilda Swinton who is just as funny as Benicio Del Toro, all in completely different ways. That in and of itself might be Wes Anderson’s greatest skill, and by using this anthology framing device, he gets to put it on display like never before.
The French Dispatch is in theaters now.
The French Dispatch
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- Release Date
- October 22, 2021
The French Dispatch is an anthology comedy from director Wes Anderson. The story takes place in 1975 France when The French Dispatch magazine’s editor dies of a sudden heart attack. His last wish is for a final issue to be published, which includes four articles, “The Cycling Reporter,” “The Concrete Masterpiece,” “Revisions to a Manifesto,” and “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner.” Like most Wes Anderson movies, The French Dispatch has a substantial cast, including Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, and Léa Seydoux, to name a few.