The French Dispatch

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Steve Park, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Lois Smith, Tony Revolori, Christoph Waltz, Rupert Friend, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Elizabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Fisher Stevens
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An American newspaper in a small French city publishes a series of articles about people, culture, and politics.

Review:
Tim: Over the years, I've definitely become a bigger Wes Anderson fan. His quirky comedies have absolutely grown on me and my appreciation for what he can do has increased. The French Dispatch isn't as effective as his best movies, but it's a well-made, entertaining film that succeeds more often than it doesn't. It might not have the staying power of some of his better films, nor is it as humorous and entertaining as some. Yet, it's still a success and a movie I enjoyed watching.

Anderson ties all of his stories around this American newspaper in France. Honestly, that part of the film felt like more of the scaffolding. It was never all that important, it just held together the various vignettes. That's really the heart of the film. Anderson quickly introduces us to unique and quirky characters and tells several stories that range in effectiveness. When you like the stories, the movie is effective. When they're weaker, the movie suffers. In the end, the movie does enough for me to consider it a good film.

The first segment is definitely the best. We're introduced to an insane, incarcerated painter in Benicio Del Toro. He's also a genius. Del Toro gives a performance that at times feels over-the-top, but in the best ways. He is disturbed and brilliant and great fun to watch. His muse is Lea Seydoux, who shines in her supporting role. Seydoux is an underrated actress and she breaks some of that wall down here. Her performance is impressive. Adrien Brody adds a great supporting performance here, too. His interactions with Del Toro and Seydoux make up a lot of the momentum and drama of this story. He has a few nice scenes with Bob Balaban and Henry Winkler, too. Tilda Swinton pops in for a smaller supporting role, but delivers some impressively funny and bizarre lines of dialogue. I found this story to be the most compelling and well-designed. You have this genius painter who is imprisoned for a horrible crime (the accounting of which involves several of the film's funniest lines). You have his muse, who inspires him to achieve his potential but might have motives of her own. And then, you have the art dealers, whose desire for wealth and fame influence their decisions. It's a wonderfully complicated little story and it's great fun to watch.

The second segment isn't as effective from a story perspective. It involves student protests and Anderson takes it in some bizarre directions. I was never that invested in the characters or the story. It's clearly less interesting than the first segment. The one saving grace is that it features two strong performances, in Frances McDormand and Timothee Chalamet. I had great fun watching them both give strong performances and playing off each other. That helped immensely, because whenever I felt my interest flagging, I could focus on their acting talent and I got reengaged.

The third segment was solid, but not quite as good as the first. It involves a story about a kidnapping. It's well told and it has some unexpected moments, so the story does enough to hold our attention. The real difference here is that Jeffrey Wright gives a superb performance. He is such a massively talented actor and I loved that he got the limelight for this segment. Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber both add nice (but smaller) supporting turns here. I enjoyed seeing Edward Norton, but again, his performance was so limited. Overall, this might not have been a great segment, but it mostly held my attention.

In the newspaper sequences, we do get a bit of time with Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. They both are limited in their roles, but their presence was welcome. It was fun to see Elizabeth Moss and Jason Schwartzman, too. I wish they had more to do.

I enjoyed The French Dispatch. It's amazing that Anderson continues to make this uniquely Anderson films. His approach and style are so original and it's always fun to see what he will cook up next. He's also incredible at bringing diverse and wonderful casts together. I do feel like this one ballooned a bit too large. I loved seeing so many famous faces, but it would have been a better film with half as many actors and they each get significant more screen time. It felt like Anderson traded depth for breadth and I don't think that is ultimately a recipe for success. Still, this movie is certainly worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore