If you’re not familiar with Director Wes Anderson, and his style of filmmaking; do yourself a favor and check out Anderson’s latest film, The French Dispatch.
‘Dispatch’ is Anderson’s love letter to a bygone era of flowery, stylized, print journalism. The kind of storytelling made famous in The New Yorker and The Saturday Evening Post; Wes Anderson pays homage to that style of journalism, and to the people who told those stories.
The Plot – The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch of Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
A style of print journalism so behind-the-times; The French Dispatch takes place during the printing of it’s FINAL issue, in 1975. A weekly publication of long form, stylized prose; ‘Dispatch’ represents a bureau of Americans in Paris, as a smaller part of a small town Kansas newspaper.
Wes Anderson regular Bill Murray stars as The French Dispatch’s Editor, Arthur Howitzer, Jr. A story meeting in the Editor’s office frames the film, as each ‘article’s author, narrates their own stories for the assembled newspaper staff to hear.
Each authors’ story represents a self-enclosed narrative in this anthology of a film. Owen Wilson‘s ‘Herbsaint Sazerac’, Tilda Swinton‘s ‘J.K.L. Berensen’, Frances McDormand‘s ‘Lucinda Krementz’, and Jeffrey Wright‘s ‘Roebuck Wright’; each tell their increasingly quirky, bazaar stories about life in Ennui-Sur-Blase.
The Storyteller, NOT The Story
One of the best things about Wes Anderson’s storytelling style is the focus on the person telling the story, more than just the story itself. That is never more true when making a film highlighting journalism, and especially the kind of journalism we don’t see much of any more.
To emphasize this point further, when re-watching the trailer for The French Dispatch, virtually ALL of the main story elements are included in the trailer itself. NOTHING was left out.
In the year-plus that I’ve been writing movie reviews, I generally limit myself when writing a review to only talk about Plot elements shown in the trailer, or in the first half hour of the film. This helps avoid spoilers, and keep up a sense of anticipation.
By Wes Anderson including ALL of his story elements, he’s GIVING AWAY his story for free, and betting you’ll still want to hear the story being told. And, for fans of Wes Anderson movies, that is definitely the case.
The Good – The French Dispatch
The Cast
The storytellers in this cast are all Wes Anderson veterans. Owen Wilson was in Anderson’s first movie ‘Bottle Rocket‘ back in 1996, and has continued most of his films since.
Tilda Swinton joined the Anderson Troop of Actors with 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, and even channels former 20/20 anchor Barbara Walters in her segment of Dispatch.
Best Actress Winner Frances McDormand also joined the Anderson Troop in Moonrise Kingdom, and channels Jack Kerouac in the second chapter. Jeffrey Wright makes his Anderson debut narrating and starring in the Third Chapter, in what feels like he’s channeling Truman Capote from ‘In Cold Blood‘.
Wes Anderson goes FULL ‘Wes Anderson’
I’ve never seen Wes Anderson go FULL ‘Wes Anderson’ in a Wes Anderson film more than this particular Wes Anderson film.
Anderson has a distinctive visual and narrative style in all of his films, but The French Dispatch doubles down on the Anderson-ness. The 4 by 3 aspect ratio, the extensive black and white video, and the video of people posing for still pictures; all jump off the screen.
The acting style, the vibrant costumes, and quirky locations and storylines, also mark that distinct Wes Anderson style. And, that ‘Anderson-oeuvre’ is applied so thickly, so densely, this film borders on ‘Cinema’, rather than just a film. However, Anderson stays just short of the ‘artsy-fartsy’ line, keeping The French Dispatch accessible to a wider audience.
The Bad
The French Dispatch’s production and storytelling are rock solid across the board. However, there is a few minutes near the end of Frances McDormand’s segment that drags. It does not take you out of the movie, or contain superfluous content; but compared to the rest of the fast paced flick, it stands out.
Also, I’d have like to see Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson in this film. Both are Anderson regulars, and their presence and energy were missed. Not say they should have replaced one already in the cast, but even as a cameo, it would’ve been nice to see.
The Review – The French Dispatch
Director Wes Anderson is in fine form with this film. Anderson has already received seven Academy Award nominations in his career, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a few more for ‘Dispatch.’
The visuals, actors, and storylines are all vintage Anderson. At the same time, the film comes together in an authentic feeling story meeting, that anyone who’s spent time in real life newsrooms (17 years for me in TV News) can feel.
Anderson’s love of classic print journalism, and authors from the 60’s and 70’s clearly shines through in this homage. The filmmaking is face paced and densely packed, but is still easily digestible.
You may need to see the film a second time to catch everything, but you’ll leave the theater utterly entertained after just one viewing.
For those that are already Anderson fans, get to the theater as soon as possible! For those that just love good films and original stories, also check out The French Dispatch Of The Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun.
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Wes Anderson's latest film The French Dispatch pays homage to print journalism of days gone by. Bill Murray leads an All Star cast.
