Once upon a time, a newspaper in Europe, The French Dispatch, employs a small staff of reporters charged with various sections of politics and arts resulting in offbeat stories like a prison inmate’s (Benicio Del Toro is a hoot) art inspired by his muse, a female guard (Léa Seydoux). Other pieces involve a love story amid a student rebellion and a madcap chase involving gangsters, police, and kidnapping. It’s all framed under the watchful eye of the news editor (Bill Murray).
This is Anderson’s loving tribute to publications like The New Yorker and an excuse to tell some outrageous tales populated with colorful characters spouting sharp, snappy dialogue. He brings out the best from his collaborators by pulling everything from his creative toolbox including animation, and the film shines alternately with colorful and black and white set designs and costumes embellished with dazzling camerawork. You realize you are in the hands of a filmmaker at the top of his game.
Anderson
attracts the best acting talent with a stellar, ensemble cast including Tilda Swinton (a standout), Frances McDormand,
Owen Wilson, Timothée
Chalamet, Adrien Brody, and many others having a ball.
Anderson
is in full flourish here. Fans will
revel in this confection which should feast
on Oscar nominations across the board. Years from now, his impressive body of work
and unique brand of comedy may be compared to auteurs like Ernst Lubitsch and
Preston Sturges. Wait, it already is.
***1/2
of **** stars (add ½* for Anderson fans)
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