The Grand Budapest Hotel – Film Review
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson and Tony Revolori
Release
Date: Mar 7
When Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), lover, adventurer and concierge of the prestigious Grand Budapest Hotel, is framed for murder after inheriting a priceless painting, he goes on the run along with his hotel’s loyal lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori) in The Grand Budapest Hotel, a colourful and adventurous comedy.
Written by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, and being the eighth film directed by Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel displays a lavish cast of cameos and supporting roles, including Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton and many many more.
I’m a huge fan of Wes Anderson’s films and so, as usual, I was very excited to see his latest piece of cinematic work. But I do understand that his films can have an off-putting sense of exclusiveness for many audience members, and so my bias may not be efficient in writing an adequate review. But I believe I can recommend this film the right way.
As I understand it, it’s his early films like Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums that the less acquainted find it easier to watch, not to mention his later film The Fantastic Mr. Fox. But then there are films like The Darjeeling Limited and perhaps (although I’m not really sure) Moonrise Kingdom that seemed less accessible. The one that baffles me is the criticism and disappointment that followed with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou which I think is one of his (and Bill Murray’s) finest films.
The truth is, Wes Anderson is one of those filmmakers of which it’s hard not to discuss a single film without bringing up the others. His style and aesthetic has become so specifically signature that, similar to Quentin Tarantino, his films can feel very much like episodic installments. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing but this rigid approach to filmmaking can often cause a a decline into repetitive dullness but I do not think this has happened to Wes Anderson.
While I do think that The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom didn’t feel more comfortable rather than challenging for the director to make, I still thought they were wonderfully entertaining, and in between the two of them was The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a spectacularly innovative stop animated kids film.
So where does The Grand Budapest Hotel lie on the Wes Anderson spectrum? To be perfectly blunt it had a similar comfortable quality to Darjeeling or Moonrise but I think it’s a more accessible film. In fact I think it has the most energy and verility of any of Wes Anderson’s films so far. It’s pace and humour were frankly pitch perfect and the cast certainly doesn’t fall behind.
Ralph Fiennes, as the lead, had the difficult job of pretty much embodying the personality of the film and he does an absolutely perfect job. The word I’m looking for is dashing. The character of Gustave is meant to be smart, charming and resourceful and Fiennes manages to make you believe that such an almost impossible person can exist. Relative unknown Tony Revolori is excellent as well, proving a perfect fit to Wes Anderson’s typical dry humour. Really I could go on and on about the rest of the cast but suffice it to say, they’re all wonderful.
As well as being his most energetic film, I also think it’s Wes Anderson’s most visually pleasing. That might be the most subjective thing I have to say about it though. It’s hard to say exactly what, but I just found something particularly mature about the visuals. First of all, I think the fact that the film changes aspect ratio is a very bold move. This isn’t anything new for a mainstream film. The Dark Knight Rises is a film that shifted between slightly different aspect ratios due to certain scenes being filmed on IMAX and there have been films like Scott Pilgrim VS The World that did it for a subtle satirical effect.
But The Grand Budapest Hotel changes from a standard wide screen image to a narrow 4:3, dimensions that are outdated even for television. This squarer kind of picture is clearly a nod to the era of silent films which the movie homages in many other ways. While I’m not certain, I think most of the film was in 4:3, which could have been a very jarring element but the truth is I kept forgetting the screen was so narrow, and I think in terms of style it was the right move.
There’s also a good marriage between Wes Anderson’s sense of grounded realistic visuals that are shot on location, or at least very convincing sets, and his sense of gratuitous fakery, although the film leans a much more on the latter side, however, without giving too much away, the film does do something intelligent with having the fake looking parts being appropriately fake and likewise for the realistic parts.
So with all this wonderful stuff, there is just one thing missing overall and that is the fact that the film never quite takes a breather in the way that I think it should. With all the wonderful energy and snappy pace the film offers, there isn’t really much of a break at any point, that would have allowed the audience to get just a little further engaged. In my opinion, it’s his best films that do this and I think it’s the reason why his, or anyone’s films can have a wider accessibility.
In terms of how much I can recommend this film to someone who’s not necessarily a Wes Anderson fan, I believe I can, but I don’t think anyone who is really really not a fan at all should see it, but that kind of goes without saying. It’s not as exclusive feeling as Darjeeling or Moonrise were (although I don’t think they were by that much) and it’s a film with a simple and cute charm that’s quite intoxicating.
Although it does feel like a bit of a shame that I can’t recommend it to a younger audience, as the film is quite vulgar in places, but then again that element does add an extra sharply funny sense of humour to it.
In the end, The Grand Budapest is another fantastic installment from its director and although it may not rank amongst the highest of Wes Anderson’s films, it’s certainly above the middle and a heart warming, sharp and very very funny film.
Score: 4/5
Written by Sèamus Hanly
