Wes Anderson’s films have always existed in their own meticulously crafted worlds, filled with idiosyncratic characters, symmetrical framing, and a deep reverence for storytelling. With The French Dispatch (2021), Wes Anderson takes that reverence to the extreme, creating an anthology film structured like a literary magazine—an ode to journalism, complete with winding prose, dense narration, and rapid-fire dialogue. It’s visually dazzling and conceptually ambitious, but in its relentless pursuit of style and structure, it lacks the emotional resonance that makes Anderson’s best work so enduring.
The movie unfolds as a collection of stories written by journalists at The French Dispatch, a fictional magazine based in the equally fictional French town of Ennui-sur-Blasé. Editor-in-chief Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray) oversees the final issue before the magazine ceases publication, with three main feature stories forming the heart of the film.
The first, The Concrete Masterpiece, follows an imprisoned artist (Benicio del Toro) whose abstract paintings captivate the art world, much to the chagrin of his muse and prison guard (Léa Seydoux). The second, Revisions to a Manifesto, introduces us to a youthful revolutionary (Timothée Chalamet) caught between political ideals and romantic impulses. And the third, The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner, features a food journalist (Jeffrey Wright) recounting a bizarre, noir-infused police rescue mission. Each segment is distinct in tone and theme, yet all share Anderson’s signature precision, clever wordplay, and an overflowing ensemble of recognizable faces, including Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson, Frances McDormand, and Saoirse Ronan.
There’s an undeniable charm in seeing Anderson push his craft to the limit, transforming each scene into a hyper-stylized, textural experience. The film oscillates between color and black-and-white, employs aspect ratio shifts, and occasionally dips into animated sequences—every frame packed with the kind of intricate detail that invites admiration. And yet, for all its wit and visual ingenuity, The French Dispatch often feels emotionally distant.
Anderson’s best films—whether it’s The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, or even the stop-motion charm of Fantastic Mr. Fox—strike a balance between their whimsical aesthetic and genuine emotional depth. They linger in their characters’ heartbreak, nostalgia, and longing. But here, the breakneck pacing and anthology format leave little room for those deeper connections. The film is so devoted to the cadence of magazine writing that it forgets to let us feel something beyond admiration for the craft.
There’s no denying that The French Dispatch is a love letter to a specific era of journalism, filled with literary flourishes and a deep respect for storytelling as an art form. But while Anderson succeeds in creating a film that mimics the structure of a great publication, the experience of watching it feels more like flipping through a beautifully designed magazine than becoming absorbed in a truly great story. It’s a film to be admired more than loved—impressive in its execution but ultimately less rewatchable than many of Anderson’s other works. Almost five years later, it already feels somewhat forgotten, eclipsed by Asteroid City, which manages to balance Anderson’s dense storytelling with a more inviting and emotionally engaging approach.
Score: 6/10
The French Dispatch (2021)
- Cast: Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Steve Park, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Lois Smith, Tony Revolori, Christoph Waltz, Rupert Friend, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Griffin Dunne, Anjelica Huston
- Director: Wes Anderson
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: October 29, 2021
More Reviews for Movies Directed by Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson has directed the following movies:
- Bottle Rocket (1996)
- Rushmore (1998)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Isle of Dogs (2018)
- The French Dispatch (2021)
- Asteroid City (2023)