The French Dispatch Movie Review

The French Dispatch (2021)

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Written by: Wes Anderson (screenplay by),  Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola & Hugo Guinness & Jason Schwartzman (story by)
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Tony Revolori, Ed Norton, Christopher Waltz, Anjelica Huston
Rated: R
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Plot
A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional twentieth century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch Magazine".

Verdict
This is very much a Wes Anderson film, almost too a fault. Even my most liked Anderson film don't rank highly. I just don't connect with his movies. This splits the plot, creating a series of short films. The problem is that I only find one of the short stories interesting. With the length, the plots can't be more than shallow. It's an indulgence that only an established director could get. If you like Anderson, it's going to have the quirky characters, detailed sets, and odd situations.
Skip it.

Review
The overarching narrative is a newspaper posting a best of issue. We see their best features play out. That's the only thing that links these four short films. That's all this is, something that I kept wondering  if that was it or this was have a unifying theme. This has all of the Wes Anderson flourishes. It's an odd movie, the typical actors show up, characters have quirks, and sets are incredibly detailed. It takes a typical Anderson movie, but strips the plot.

This feels like a director indulging an idea like the Coen's did with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. An un-established director wouldn't get this opportunity.

Adrain Brody and Benicio del Toro

All of the stories strive for the ironic. In the second one, a prisoner becomes an art genius due to an art dealer's promotion. Art is whatever an art dealer tells you it is. 

Liev Schreiber and Jeffrey Wright

I didn't like the third story as much. I don't mind anthology movies, but they're a much different experience than the standard movie. It doesn't help that after the second, the stories didn't hold my interest. The movie is more interested in style and artistry than story.

This has the Wes Anderson effect and gets the Wes Anderson review. All of these actors wouldn't be in this movie if it wasn't for the name recognition, and I don't blame them at all. The cast is stacked with talent. They wanted an Anderson movie and they definitely got it.

This is one of those movie that I want to like more than I do. I've watched many, if not all, of Anderson's movie at this point. I can see why they're liked, but I've never had a strong connection. The movies I like the most are his more grounded movies. If I watched this a second time would I like it more? It's entirely possibly, but I also have no desire.