The Grand Budapest Hotel Review
By: Matt Cummings
The refreshingly wacky Grand Budapest Hotel celebrates uniqueness in typical Wes Anderson style.
We here at SJF do our best to recommend films that you'll enjoy - we think those that bill themselves as 'important' are mostly meant to be ignored, while those hidden gems require a bit of digging and a willingness to push your boundaries. Director Wes Anderson scored big on our 2012 Best-Of list with
Moonrise Kingdom, due entirely to its quirkiness and beautifully-demented environment. We didn't feel that way about
Bottle Rocket and we outright disliked
Fantastic Mr. Fox; but with
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson scores with a funny yet unconventional work that's certainly not mainstream.
Set mainly in the 1930's fictional fascist world of the European Republic of Zubrowka, we are introduced to the once-storied The Grand Budapest Hotel, a place of wonder where the rich can escape their worries in Turkish baths and luxury accommodations. The concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) is second to none, while his apprentice Zero Mustafa (Tony Revolori) is learning under Gustave's very direct tutelage. When a frequent guest and elderly heiress dies under mysterious circumstances and leaves a priceless painting to Gustave, the family led by her son Dmitri (Adrien Brody) conspire to deny Gustave the gift by any means necessary. The movie shifts back and forth to the 1960's and an elderly Zero (F. Murray Abraham), who relates the events to a visitor (Jude Law), while the Hotel is falling apart due to neglect. As Gustave escapes prison and the younger Zero aids in his escape, Dmitri's psychopathic partner Jobling (Wilem Defoe) seeks a second copy of the will that if found could destroy Dmitri's evil plans to control the family and the Hotel itself.
Anderson has always been known to craft unique films with quirky characters - his vision for
Hotel doesn't stray too far from that formula, but here he ups the comedy to slapstick proportions with pleasing results. He also consistently commands one of the best array of cameos you'll see in film, from Bill Murray as a fellow concierge in Gustave's 'network' to Owen Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, and Bob Balaban. Each have their moments, assisting Gustave with his escape while the policeman Henckels (Ed Norton) pursues him for a murder he didn't commit. It's also a deeply multi-layered approach, with Wilkinson and Law playing the same character, and Abraham and Revolori doing the same across three timelines. Anderson uses extreme closeups, whip camera styles, and model animation, set around Feinnes's old-world dapper style, while his penchant for blonde, elderly women becomes hilariously apparent at the heiress's funeral. He's at his best when he allows Gustave to jump out of character to utter an obscenity or become enraged when Zero fails to bring champagne to celebrate his escape and wash out his mouth. We can't recall the last time Feinnes was in a memorable comedy, but we hope he and Anderson collaborate again.
And yet it's not as endearing as Moonrise Kingdom, nor does the flash forward/back style seem to gel as well as it could. This and its rather abrupt ending are its only faults, merely frustrating us only long enough before its contagious style draws us back in. This is the kind of film that can wake up the casual moviegoer used to cookie-cutter plots and predictable endings, so long as you're willing to suspend reality in exchange for the promise of a good time.
Much like other genre pics we've recently reviewed, The Grand Budapest Hotel isn't for everyone. Its wackiness is equaled by Anderson's deft direction and its deep cast, which combine into a pleasing adventure that's off the beaten path. In an industry that celebrates the mediocre and the predictable, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a surprise we can happily recommend.
It's rated R for language, some sexual content and violence and has a runtime of 100 minutes.
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