Review: ‘The French Dispatch’ is a Humourous but Uneven Film
This 2021 anthology movie doesn’t live up to Wes Anderson’s best works
For years I never understood why some film lovers couldn’t stand Wes Anderson’s style. Sure, it was repetitive, but it always seemed to serve a grander purpose in his stories, which could differ greatly in terms of content, but always embodied a similar tone. It’s only been in recent years that I’ve found myself becoming more frustrated with his visual style, his films’ intentionally monotone voice-over narration, and the affected lifelessness of his shot compositions.
Before, they were packaged in stories bursting with life, humour and emotion, or which lent themselves well to the realm of animation. But in his last two movies, his visual style and writing has hit a career-low. That being said, this is still Wes Anderson we’re talking about, so a career-low from him is better than what many directors could hope to achieve. This ranking is also very heavily swayed by my perception of Asteroid City, a movie that I genuinely despise. In comparison, The French Dispatch is a masterpiece. In terms of where it ranks amongst the rest of Anderson’s films, I do see it as a let-down, but that’s not to say that the movie doesn’t have its moments.
