The French Dispatch

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⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

I have never been a big fan of Wes Anderson movies, but I went into this one with an open heart. It is true to form, a whimsical oddball movie in the exact style of his other movies. And like his other movies, it just didn't really work for me.

Its about a small newspaper, and the story is told over 3 vignettes, kind of like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (which is 100x better), where each one is laying out an article that one of the writers is working on. This movie gets a lot of style points, as it employs tons of different styles including black and white, animation, etc. It is also maybe the most star studded movie of all time, with tons of pleasant cameo-esque appearances.

There was a lot to like, but I feel like the humour never quite landed for me, and the tiered story telling got a bit confusing at times, with the vignettes branching off into other vignettes. It is several different looks at the journalistic and creative endeavours, but I didn't connect to any of it really. So while it was a fun time at the movies, it hasn't really raised my view of Wes Anderson.

Shoutout to Chalamet, who is having quite the month, but I think the MVP goes to Benecio Del Toro.

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