Anderson is as auteur as they come. You just need to see one frame from one of his films and you know exactly who the director is. His symmetrical imagery, the way the camera pans and tracks shots, the level of casting depth and the quirky tone in the dialogue and story structure is completely unique to him. While it is clear that he is not for everyone, his fanbase is strong and devoted.
I have definitely warmed to him in the last few years and I think it helped me with his latest piece as it is another enjoyable watch.
I think like with most of his works, it took me a while to absorb myself back to Anderson's world of story-telling. The pacing is slightly more relentless than his other works. So much so, that there are times when subtitles are, and you don't have time to completely read it before it disappears. Also, instead of going for a central story, the anthology story structure took a while to get used to. But once I could get to grips with the structure and the main theme being a love letter to journalists, I certainly appreciated what I had already seen as well as the rest of the film.
The performances across the board all played their part really well. Like with all Anderson films, the depth of star power is insane and the screen-time for most cast members is short but well utilised. Some usual collaborators with Anderson are back and some new faces fell perfectly into place. Some stand outs were Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton and Jeffrey Wright.
I do have some minor negatives with the film. As mentioning, the editing could have been improved as it can move a bit too fast to keep up with what is happening. Some of the writing I feel may borderline alienate even hardcore Wes Anderson fans and some of the choices in the imagery felt random for random sake. But I felt Anderson pulls back enough to not make it too pretentious or even self-mocking. However, I won't be surprised get turned off by this film for those reasons.
But for me, like with a lot of Anderson's films, it is infectiously charming. Whether it's to do with the production design, bonkers stories, pockets of randomness, switching from colour to black and white or live-action to animation, there is something for everyone to find enjoyment from. You can see the confidence Anderson has with his ideas and putting them onto screen knowing they will be appreciated. However, it is hard to see whether his confidence is making him less and less accessible. We'll have to wait and see on that theory.
In the meantime, I will praise this as it was enjoyable, yet strange, and that statement could be an Anderson film in a nutshell. There are some impressive set pieces and Anderson and his team's production design continues to amaze me in its detail. Every frame could easily be a painting on someone's wall and there a whole bunch of characters to get invested with.
Anderson could well be at his peak as he is having a bit of a hot streak at the moment. It will be interesting to see not only how long this will last, but also what direction his future instalments will go. Expect anything with this talented man.
Rating: 8/10
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