The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson’s (Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, Isle of Dogs) tenth feature is a love letter to one of his lifelong passions, reading New Yorker stories. Anderson, who has bound copies since his teen years, once bought a full collection of bound New Yorker magazines. That likely explains why such a talented director went so wrong with The French Dispatch.

Framed as three articles in a final issue of the fictional French Dispatch Sunday supplement, this is an anthology film that might have worked as a bingeable 6-part streamer but does not as a film. The quiet magazine setup does not hold enough intrigue to hold audience interest — especially as the title cards set up the disappointing news that this is going to be a collection of unconnected short stories with no destination in sight.

The sites, however, are intoxicatingly bold and full of visual delights and the stars are top favorites. Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christolph Waltz, William Dafoe, Ed Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Angelika Huston, Henry Winkler and more. Unfortunately, as each title card cued another story, I simply wanted to know how many short stories there are going to be, and when this might end.

The first story, featuring Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux and others is a gem, fully realized. The second, featuring Frances McDormand (this year’s Oscar Best Actress winner) and Timothee Chalamet (hot off Dune’s success this past weekend) requires patience as does the third story. While every frame is beautifully crafted, I can’t recommend this film.

In a nutshell: Apparently, watching the New Yorker come to life is a meandering journey.

Award potential: Unlike The Grand Budapest Hotel, we won’t see this one in the list of Best Picture nominees but Anderson is always a nomination contender for Best Production Design (the old Art Direction category) and potentially Best Costume.

Where to watch: In theaters now. 

The Ten Buck Review: Not worth ten bucks.