Film Review: THE FRENCH DISPATCH (2021): Wes Anderson’s Latest Is Well Cast And Just Pure Genius

The French Dispatch Review

The French Dispatch (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Wes Anderson and starring Benicio Del Toro, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Owen Wilson, Steve Park, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Edward Norton, Lois Smith, Tony Revolori and Larry Pine.

Wes Anderson’s new film, The French Dispatch, is a masterpiece about the art of writing. It is a film focused on journalism but it also has so many different creative aspects to it that the movie is simply impossible to resist. Bill Murray, in one of his best supporting turns, is featured as Arthur Howitzer Jr., the Kansas born founder of a magazine called The French Dispatch. As the film opens, we learn he has passed away and his fellow journalists must write an obituary fitting for the man who he was. Anderson, during the course of the film, shows us some of the most interesting stories featured around the journalists of the fictional magazine the film is titled after.

There are three central tales which are wildly different in nature but they are all bearing the trademark Wes Anderson humor and originality. There is also some typical Wes Anderson “gravy” thrown in for good measure. That gravy includes the character of Herbsaint Sazerac (Anderson regular Owen Wilson) riding a bike around and giving us a tour of some of the film’s locations. Wilson’s role gets the audience’s feet wet with some hilarious scenes before the movie settles in for its main attractions.

Benicio Del Toro plays an eccentric, grunting imprisoned murderer/artist named Moses Rosenthaler. He has a female model named Simone (Lea Seydoux in a brave, daring performance) posing nude for his artwork. Simone just also happens to be a security guard in the jail he is in. These two characters seem to love each other in some ways but, ultimately, Simone just appears to be having fun herself when one examines the bizarre situations these two find themselves in. Adrien Brody plays an art dealer who is determined to make Moses the next big artist for reasons only Brody’s character can truly grasp. This segment of the film also gets the audience’s feet wet for the absolutely inspired next two chapters. With some hilarious sequences found in this tale starring Del Toro, Seydoux and Brody, the audience may find itself laughing hysterically at some aspects of the film. Some of these moments include the surprise appearance of Henry Winkler (AKA “The Fonz” from “Happy Days”). When, Brody’s’ character Julien arranges an art show at the prison, just wait until you see what happens!

The centerpiece of the picture is the best portion of an admittedly great film. This segment revolves around and is inspired by France’s protests from the late 1960’s. Frances McDormand is the journalist Lucinda Krementz here who takes an interest in a young chess player called Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet). This tale also stars one of the best young French actresses around Lyna Khoudri (Secret Name) as Chalamet’s potential love interest Juliette. However, before he can pursue anything with her, he must (or rather will) have sex with Lucinda first. Well, he doesn’t actually have to sleep with Lucinda but Anderson makes it happen in this part of the movie for whatever reason with hysterical results. Lucinda hilariously wonders if there’s such a thing as “journalistic neutrality” as she edits Zeffirelli’s quite intriguing manifesto making it seem much less than his own work in the process or does she make it more of his own work? You can decide for yourself. Anderson happily leaves the audience to draw its own conclusions regarding how these characters are meant to intersect and inspire each other through their interactions.

Jeffrey Wright stars in the last large section of the movie. He portrays a man who is called Roebuck Wright. He is being interviewed by Liev Schreiber’s show host character regarding his truly outstanding memory and a whole lot more. Jeffrey Wright’s character Roebuck can remember every line of every thing he’s ever written. A kidnapping takes place of a kid named Gigi (portrayed by Winston Ait Hellal) in true Anderson style that leads to some animated images that are perfectly integrated into the rest of the film. The best part in this segment is when Roebuck finds himself in jail. Murray’s Howitzer gives him a job interview and even assigns him a book review for his first story! Don’t ask how Saoirse Ronan (Ladybird) gets tangled up in this elaborate storyline.

Anderson’s film is sprinkled with plenty of humorous moments but they all come together perfectly for a genuinely entertaining film. Del Toro masterfully portrays the murderer who’s given a second shot at success by Brody’s wonderfully written character. McDormand and Chalamet are so good in their scenes together that we, at times, question what each character’s true motivations are regarding their interaction with each other all throughout the entire segment. Wright is a genuine actor’s actor here and solidifies the movie’s greatness through his performance. Bill Murray is brilliant in every scene he’s in especially when he questions his journalists’ approaches to their stories.

I’d love to tell you The French Dispatch is a perfect movie and it almost is. Two things are particularly bothersome here, however. The first is when Anderson gives us too much international dialogue at once. He occasionally puts subtitles all over the place and the subtitles don’t stay up long enough to read them all through and take them all in. I heard people laughing in the audience but sometimes I missed the jokes because I couldn’t read them quick enough. This may just be Anderson’s way of demanding a second viewing of the film. The other problematic aspect of the movie is the disappointing use of Edward Norton in the last major tale of the movie. Norton appears briefly but isn’t given a memorable character to play. But, even with these complaints, I had a really good time watching this film.

The French Dispatch is still a masterpiece that could have slowed down a bit at times. Just because I couldn’t keep up with Anderson’s zingy scenes and fast pace doesn’t mean everyone will have the same experience watching the movie. But, whether you can keep up with Anderson or not, one thing’s certain. You will want to see this movie more than once!

Rating: 9/10

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