The French Dispatch

Director: Wes Anderson

Production Company: Indian Paintbrush

Streaming Service: In Theaters

Release Date: October 22, 2021

Rating: R

Description: The French Dispatch is a film directed by Wes Anderson which is made up of stories and articles from the fictional American magazine, The French Dispatch. Each unique story is told from the point of view of the talented writers and are brought to life through the actors, sounds, and sets. The film is filled with a star-studded cast such as Billy Murray, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and so many more.

Over the weekend, I went to see The French Dispatch, directed by Wes Anderson. I knew nothing about this movie at all and had no expectations for the movie. All I could collect from the trailer was a Wes Anderson movie about an American magazine called the French Dispatch and that Timothée Chalamet is in the movie. That’s it. I quickly realized that the movie was much more than I expected. The movie was a collection of stories from talented writers of the magazine that are brought to life throughout the movie. The movie gives the audience a real-life insight into these stories a connects them all to the present of the movie. There was a lot to unpack in this fast-paced film and Anderson’s creativity shines throughout this film.

A Wes Anderson film would not be a Wes Anderson film without symmetrical camera shots, vibrant colors, moving stages, tracking shots, and more aspects that make a Wes Anderson film special. However, Anderson did incorporate details that have not been seen before. Unlike most Anderson films that are filled with colors, most of this movie was filmed in black& white. The elimination of color helped determine the time period of the story, create a mood, and force Anderson to focus on details besides colors. Only a very few scenes contained color and they were usually scenes of the present or were essential to the story. Anderson also tested hand-drawn animation scenes. Instead of filming a lengthy car chase that incorporates multiple high-risk stunts, Anderson included a hand-drawn animation of the chase. The animation was incorporated into the movie smoothly and I perked up when the animation scene came on. Finally, the dialogue of the movie was sophisticated and refined. Anderson made the words of these stories come to life throughout the movie. At some points, I did not understand what the characters were saying because they were talking extremely fast and using intellectual words that were hard to comprehend. But luckily, I was able to understand what was happening by the story displayed on the screen. Anderson tested his creativity in this movie and pushed the limits of filmmaking.

Overall, I thought this movie was one of Anderson's more creative movies and was a good and entertaining movie. This movie is very sophisticated and tasteful and is not a great movie to watch with friends or when you are not in the mood to use your brain. You need to be somewhat attentive to understand and enjoy this movie. Otherwise, it is the perfect movie to watch and dissect each story told in the film. Anderson’s creative and meticulous thinking was shown throughout this movie and made the film one of the most creative Anderson films I have seen.

Reviewer: Audrey Fitzgerald

Review date: 11/8/2021