★★★★
Take note, Hollywood: originality is alive
and well if you’re willing to look for it. Director Wes Anderson is full of
originality, from his stories to his style. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is his
latest film and it fits perfectly into his body of work that’s already been
highly regarded and decorated.
“The Grand Budapest
Hotel” is a story about the adventures of Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes),
concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka. M.
Gustave is a dedicated servant to the hotel who is loved by all his guests,
specifically the older blonde women who visit the hotel just for him. He’s most
fond of Madame D. (Tilda Swinton) who thinks her current stay at the Grand
Budapest will be her last time seeing M. Gustave.
Seeing all the events
unfold (and acting as our story teller in the form of F. Murray Abraham) is
young Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) who is a junior lobby boy in training.
Gustave takes him under his wing and the two become friends. About a month
later, news arrives that Madame D. has died. Gustave takes Zero to pay their
respects. When they arrive at her estate, Gustave finds out that she has
bequeathed him a rare painting called Boy with Apple. It’s priceless. But
Madame D’s son Dmitri Desgoffe-und-Taxi (Adrien Brody) doesn’t think he
deserves it. Dmitri sends his henchman, J.G. Jopling (Willem Dafoe) out on a
dastardly mission.
Soon, Gustave is accused
of murdering Madame D. and is arrested by Inspector Henckels (Edward Norton).
But the math doesn’t add up. All the evidence points to M. Gustave murdering
her, but he didn’t do it. It’s up to Gustave and Zero to figure out the mystery
so his name can be cleared. Along with help from Zero’s beautiful young
bride-to-be Agatha (Saoirse Ronan), they all have to work together or else
Gustave will be an innocent man locked away in prison.
The plot is, of course,
much bigger than that. In typical Wes Anderson fashion, the story takes on a
larger than life personality. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is completely ludicrous,
and I mean that in the best possible sense. It’s instantly welcoming and keeps
you drawn in thanks to all the over-the-top and farcical characters. Anderson
carries us from one wild chapter to the next with his fast paced script and
style.
Anderson is in a class
all of his own. He might even be a genre all of his own. To compare him to
anyone else would be useless. His films are one-of-a-kind from the originality
of the stories, the elaborated character types, deliberate camera movements and
his lush use of music (thanks here to the fantastic compositions of Alexandre
Desplat). Yes, there are many other filmmakers that have these types of
trademarks, but not in the sense that Anderson uses them. He transcends the
meaning of the term “filmmaker;” he’s an auteur.
While “The Grand Budapest
Hotel” doesn’t contain any outlooks on life that will move you and rattle your
emotions to the core, it is highly entertaining and exceedingly fun to watch.
Anderson opted to tell the story in parts rather than acts. Five parts are
bookended by a prologue and epilogue. This helps keep the film paced at a manic
speed. Anderson claims the works of Stefan Zweig - an Austrian writer who was
highly renowned around the world during the 1930s - inspired the film. He even
creatures a caricature of Zweig – to an extent – with Tom Wilkinson and Jude
Law portraying the character (simply credited as The Author).
The film is also bursting
at the seams with Anderson regulars, albeit in small roles. Jason Schwartzman,
Owen Wilson and Bill Murray all make appearances. There’s also plenty of room
for other well known actors to make an appearance, such as Jeff Goldbloom,
Mathieu Amalric, Harvey Keitel, Léa Seydoux and Bob Balaban to name a few. It’s
hard to pin down one role in particular who carries the film; everyone is so
much fun to watch.
Fiennes, more than anyone
else, is magnificent. He’s known more for his serious or Elizabethan-era roles,
but here he plays straight comedy and carries it with great ease. We already
know he can play the high society role well and here he completely embellishes
it. He’s fast-talking and uses a lot of big words that don’t really fit into
today’s vernacular. I also liked newcomer Tony Revolori. He seemed confident
and in command of his role despite standing opposite such a renowned actor such
as Fiennes.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
is a film that showcases Anderson at the top of his craft. While this film
certainly won’t be for everybody, it is probably Anderson’s most accessible
movie. The quirks that are so closely associated with Anderson’s work are on full
display here which could turn some viewers off. I implore those would-be naysayers
to take a chance on something unusual and offbeat such as this. This is one of
Anderson’s finest works to date, and should also go down as one of the finest
films of the year.
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