Film Review: "The French Dispatch" (2021).

From the director of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs comes The French Dispatch. This anthology comedy film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson. The film brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in a fictional 20th-century French city.

In August 2018, it was reported Anderson would write and direct an untitled musical film set in France, post World War II. By November, it was confirmed that the film was no longer a musical. Additionally, Benicio del Toro, Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Lois Smith, Denis Menochet, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Christoph Waltz, Cécile de France, Rupert Friend, Alex Lawther, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Griffin Dunne, Anjelica Huston and Owen Wilson were cast. Initially, Kate Winslet was also part of the cast, but had to exit the project to prepare for her next role in Ammonite (2020). At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in March 2019. Filming took place in Angoulême, Charente, France and was shot on 35 mm film using Kodak Vision3 200T 5213 for the film's color sequences, and Eastman Double-X 5222 for the film's black-and-white sequences, as well as shot in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, also known as Academy ratio. The film was set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2020, and get a wide release on July 24, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was cancelled and the film was pulled from the schedule on April 3, 2020. The film was rescheduled for release on October 16, 2020, before being pulled from the schedule again on July 23, 2020.

 

The film stars an ensemble cast that includes del Toro, Revolori, Brody, Swinton, Seydoux, Balaban, Winkler, Smith, Menochet, McDormand, Chalamet, Khoudri, Waltz, de France, Friend, Lawther, Wright, Amalric, Park, Schreiber, Dafoe, Norton, Ronan, Murray, Moss, Schwartzman, Dunne, Huston and Wilson. Amongst the whole spread of frequent Anderson collaborators, it is del Toro, Chalamet and Wright, in the spotlight, who make the most of every second they have on-screen. The end result is a flurry of cotton candy feelings.

It is a gorgeous movie; both comedic as well as emotional until the very last moment. Another great film by Anderson. There's a tantalising darkness just beneath the surface of Anderson's trademark whacky whimsy in his latest offering, the film, making it one of the year's most unforgettable films. Those of you who worship at the auteur altar of the director, who have long embraced his fastidious, meticulous style of studied nostalgia and to-the-inch symmetrical specificity, need no prodding. Anderson's particular aesthetic can sometimes serve to keep the audience at arm's length, but here it achieves something deeply beautiful, even warm and inviting. The sometimes erratic tone and plot machinations mean it may not be perfect, but ignore your reservations and enjoy the film.

Simon says The French Dispatch receives:

Also, see my review for Isle of Dogs.