The French Dispatch Review

Wes Anderson’s long-awaited The French Dispatch is many things: an action movie, a love story, a film about protest, and a film about power. But is it actually good? That depends on who you ask. The French Dispatch is the most “Wes Anderson” movie he’s made so far, and because of that, its arrival brought a wave of division. Those who love his distinct style of filmmaking are likely to thoroughly enjoy the film, but those who find themselves irked by the look and feel of his films will likely find themselves even deeper in their dissent. 

The French Dispatch is a love letter to The New Yorker and is told as such. There is hardly an overall plot, instead, just like the articles in the magazine, the film tells multiple stories for varying lengths of time – there is one brief story, then three separate stories that serve as the main articles in the fictional magazine. This method of storytelling is a main point of animosity for some viewers. At just over 1 hour and 40 minutes, the audience (for better or for worse) is forced to be completely locked in. Dispatch moves incredibly fast, changing characters, locations, time periods, all while Anderson throws his laundry list of A-list actors at you. 

The film is also very rich, filled to the brim with Anderson’s trademarks: framing devices , symmetry, shots from the roofs of moving cars, portrait shots of characters having conversations, characters talking directly to camera, the theme of family, and the Futura font. Anderson also makes references to many of the French New Wave films that inspire him, most notably was his almost exact replica of a sequence from Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle (1958).  

Because the film is so visually stimulating, it was, at times, hard to pay attention to the stories. In fact, during my first viewing, I had the thought that I needed to watch the film twice: once for the visuals, then again for the story. However, I don’t think it weakened the film. I was still able to sufficiently understand each storyline on the first watch, and I always felt that I had a solid grasp of what was happening on screen.

The pace of The French Dispatch has been another point of contention among viewers. While some have argued that the incredibly fast pace mixed with the unorthodox method of storytelling prohibited each story from feeling fully formed, I would say that the pace is what keeps the film entertaining. Moreover, I found it fun to dive, or rather dip, into each of the different stories. Each section has its own unique style and tone – it almost felt like we got three new Wes Anderson movies for the price of one.

An anthology film such as Dispatch comes inherently with a set of problems, the main being that the audience knows that there are other stories to see, and their minds will often wonder what those stories will be. I confess that I was guilty of this on more than one occasion, but because of the fast pace, the film always forced my attention back, almost immediately. 

The French Dispatch did, however, lack a key factor to the success of many of Wes’ other films: emotion. The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Fantastic Mr. Fox all felt very human and had moments of great vulnerability, The French Dispatch does not. It has its moments, but Dispatch feels void of the emotion that has so effectively filled Anderson’s other films. Again, though, the movie still works. If Dispatch was injected with emotions, it would lose the fast pace that keeps it entertaining. It has to move from story to story; there is no time and no use in attempting to feel any deep connection with the characters because soon they’ll be gone and the next section will begin. 

We had to wait about two years to see this film. In my opinion, that is playing an important role in some of Dispatch’s negative reception. Even walking out of the theater for the first time, I was a little underwhelmed, but upon reflection, I realized it wasn’t possible to live up to my expectations because they had been building for months while the film’s release was repeatedly delayed. If the pandemic hadn’t happened, and the film was released on its intended date, I think its reception would’ve been more positive. Don’t get me wrong, I think The French Dispatch is a solid film, but anything less than perfection feels disappointing after having to wait for so long. Still, this is obviously no fault of the film. 

My second viewing brought more enjoyable results. Because I understood the overall idea of the film, I was able to immerse myself more into the richness each frame carries and the inklings of humor and foreshadowing placed throughout the movie. Additionally, many of the problems that typically arise from rewatching a film, at least in my experience, did not apply to The French Dispatch. The 108-minute runtime felt even shorter than before; each of the stories flew by and not once did I feel bored with the plot. For better or worse, The French Dispatch definitely takes two viewings to fully enjoy. While some might think it annoying that you have to devote yourself to the film, I found it satisfying to invest in a film and be rewarded for doing so. 

It’s hard to conclude a review of The French Dispatch because whether or not you will like it relies so heavily on how you feel about Wes Anderson as a filmmaker and whether you have the energy to watch and rewatch a movie. Yet, it is worth it. The French Dispatch is a gratifying love letter to artists that captures the hearts of viewers and is one of the best new movies this year.

By Daniel Rosen