Trailer Review: The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson’s notorious auteur colour palette has once again brushed our screens with the trailer for The French Dispatch or The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun (to give its full title) hot off the printing press, receiving flying colours. This comes after his last quirky stop-motion animated feature Isle of Dogs that was released back in March 2018. 

Back with another stellar cast printed all over the teaser including the likes of Anderson heavy hitters Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman and less common but nonetheless exciting collaborators Frances McDormand, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright and Léa Seydoux. In addition, young stars Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan reunite after their previous venture into the indie with performances in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. If you thought that was too much, prepare for more as these are not the only A-listers set to feature in Anderson’s latest flick. The end of the trailer reveals heavyweights such as Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz and Tilda Swinton, really making you question how Anderson will weave all of them into a runtime of just 108 minutes. 

The French Dispatch also looks set to engage audiences in a typical semi-chaotic idiosyncratic Anderson storyline which tackles politics (with chaotic black and white sequences) set against a stylistic 1950s French backdrop. Chalamet, Benicio Del Toro and McDormand appear to be part of the Parisian political turmoil narrative bubbling under the surface whilst unassuming editor Murray commands an American magazine company set in the fictional commune of Ennui-sur-Blasé. 

The trailer combines many Anderson tropes in one neatly cut together montage. A mix of Anderson’s all-too-iconic symmetrical centre-framed shots with whip pans all look as though Anderson is parodying himself. However, although The French Dispatch may have the makings of another glossy Anderson copy and paste masterpiece with a French flourish, I for one, cannot wait to digest it.

Image Credit: Searchlight Pictures