Review: Benicio del Toro, Jeffrey Wright provide what's best about 'The French Dispatch'

In the interest of full disclosure, it’s important to reveal I’ve never been a huge Wes Anderson fan.

That’s sacrilegious in cinematic circles, but movies are also subjective — some move you,  others you wish were moved away.

That being said, Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” a love letter to “The New Yorker” magazine, at least provided moments where this story of a publication initially created for an audience in a small Kansas town thoroughly entertains.

Set up as individual stories in this films, it follows pieces told by writers at “The French Dispatch,” not only as they go through their process – including dealing with a crusty, old editor, Arthur Howitzer, a perfectly cast Bill Murray – of writing, but serving as a guide in their respective tales, all of which are set in the fictional town of Ennui, France.

'French Dispatch' has eccentricity on display

Of course the writers prove to be just as eccentric as Howitzer and the subjects of their respective stories, a couple of which are more entertaining than others.

Perhaps to just catch and keep his audience, Anderson leads with arguably the best and funniest one of his writers digs up.  We’re given that of Moses Rosenthaler (Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro), an imprisoned murderer who discovers his talent as a painter behind bars.

Surly, ill-tempered and completely eccentric, Moses doesn’t initially see the appeal of his work, but fellow inmate, Julian Cadazio (Oscar-winner Adrien Brody), who is in prison for tax crimes, does.  Julian and his uncles serve as Moses’ patrons as they commission him to do more work.

More:Every eccentric and quirky Wes Anderson movie ranked (including the new 'French Dispatch')

Once Julian is free, he goes about the business of making Moses a celebrity in the art world in the hopes that any work that comes from him will immediately obtain value.

During the telling of the story, we’re treated to a host of eccentric characters, played with dry, witty perfection by the likes of Tilda Swinton as J.K.L. Berensen, the writer who chronicles Moses’ life.  Moses’ story is certainly the high point in “The French Dispatch” for its gleeful eccentricities and wackiness.

After such a compelling beginning with the longer-form stories – there is a shorter one featuring Owen Wilson to open the festivities – the rest of “The French Dispatch” feels sort of like a letdown.

Timothee Chalamet, Frances McDormand have segment

While “Revisions to a Manifesto,” seeks to chronicle the revolutionary desires of Ennui’s youth through the words of Lucinda Krementz (Oscar-winner Frances McDormand) as she tells the story of would-be agitator Zeffirelli (Timothee Chalamet), it comes across as too dry and humorless for much of its screen time.

Anderson makes a strong effort to redeem the film in its entirety with the story of Roebuck Wright, a James Baldwin-esque writer – charming, intellectual and engaging – as he works the story of the kidnapping of the son of the Ennui police commissioner. Ultimately, Jeffrey Wright makes the segment sing as he goes through the machinations of dealing with Howitzer, who helped him start his career, to telling a story that at times takes on a bit of wackiness.

“The French Dispatch” as a whole feels incomplete because some stories are more compelling than others.  However, where it can be universally praised is Anderson’s dense writing that has to be unpacked to appreciate in its fullest.  Anderson also possesses an uncanny ability to find the eccentric in the mundane.

Additionally, there’s little doubt he’s assembled a first-rate cast and they all offer stellar performances.  However, it’s difficult to not appreciate some more than others. Del Toro’s wild-eyed portrayal of Rosenthaler is brilliant in the way he blends comedy and pathos.  Wright’s is dramatically compelling while being laced with subtle humor.

That’s enough to make “The French Dispatch” a film worth seeing.

George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal. Reach him at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas

Details

Movie: “The French Dispatch”

Cast: Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright

Directed by:  Wes Anderson

Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes

Rated: R for graphic nudity, some sexual references and language

Grade: B