The French Dispatch (2021)

Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Frances McDormand, Benicio del Toro, Tilda Swinton, Liev Schreiber, Timothée Chalamet, Léa Seydoux, Bill Murray, Mathieu Amalric, Lyna Khoudri, Owen Wilson, Stephen Park, Willem Dafoe, Elisabeth Moss, Edward Norton, Mohamed Belhadjine, (voice) Anjelica Huston. [R]

At this point, Wes Anderson’s trademark mannered, meticulous, geometrically-tracked filmmaking style is so rigorously applied to every frame of his projects that they could almost be described as pornographic (swap out genitals for fussy miniatures and fluids for blunt whimsy). This latest effort is a barely-connected anthology of scenarios as reported by staff writers for fictional magazine, The French Dispatch; Swinton documents the plight of a criminally-insane artist (Del Toro) through lecture, Wright recalls the kidnapping of a police captain’s child, and so on. More so than past character-and-oddity-dominated efforts from the writer/director, it’s not always easy to ferret out the plot(s)—ones of compelling progression and consequence, at any rate—and as such, it doesn’t have the staying power and immersive delights of his best work. But there are more than enough creative and humorous touches stuffed inside (check out the name of the town that houses the publication’s offices) to satisfy his faithful fans…and baffle and/or alienate all others, so buyer beware. Aspect ratio and color/black & white are switched freely, even randomly (except perhaps for emphasis), stressing the art form’s artificial theatricality. Professional writers, meanwhile, are sure to find Murray’s lenient editor too good to be true. In addition to the large ensemble cast, several familiar faces pop up in cameos (Saorsie Ronan, Christoph Waltz, Jason Schwartzman, and so on).

76/100