CLOSING NIGHT
THE FRENCH DISPATCH GERMANY/US 2021, 103 min Director Wes Anderson Wes Anderson’s films are intricate little universes, each a playground of impeccable production design and delightfully droll characters. With The French Dispatch, he pays homage to the literary world of The New Yorker, imagining the rich history of a long-running fictional American publication in France by way of vignettes about different writers at work on their most enduring pieces. Fans of The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel will relish the director’s attention to detail, while enjoying keenly idiosyncratic performances from the likes of Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, and Jeffrey Wright. Visually, this may be Anderson’s most dazzlingly dense creation, with one viewing hardly sufficient to absorb all the jokes, cultural references, and stylistic tricks on display. Journalism may be under attack in the modern age, but The French Dispatch makes the case for that venerable institution’s artistry and importance—finding poignancy and humor along the way. –Tim Grierson
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