Today’s quick review: The Grand Budapest Hotel. While vacationing at a run-down European hotel, a young writer (Jude Law) meets Mr. Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), the hotel’s aging owner, and listens to him recount the hotel’s glorious history. In Moustafa’s youth, he was the hotel’s lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori) under its legendary concierge, Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), a refined, effete man with a knack for satisfying his guests. But when one of Gustave’s dearest guests, a wealthy old widow, turns up dead, suspicion falls on him. To clear his name, Gustave and Zero set out on a bold adventure that will determine the course of their own lives and the fate of the hotel.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a peculiar comedy from director Wes Anderson where his distinctive style reaches its zenith. Set in the fictional Eastern European country of Zubrowka at the start of a war suspiciously similar to World War II, The Grand Budapest Hotel pastiches 20th-century European culture and intellectualism. Elaborate dialogue, ornate architecture, and sentimentality for a refined, bygone era are contrasted with bursts of vulgarity, occasional violence, and a pervasive sense of silliness. The result is a unique, amusing, and intellectually stimulating world that plays with historical and cultural themes without delving into real world history.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a masterfully crafted film from start to finish. As is typical for Wes Anderson, the camerawork features detailed, precise shots, symmetry, and almost no deviation from square, direct camera angles. The obvious use of models for long shots gives the world a light, toylike feel and distances the film from more conventional moviemaking. An absolutely phenomenal soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat gives the movie much of its quirky, energetic tone; electric organ, percussion, and winding guitar lend each scene a slightly silly sort of intensity that goes perfectly with the rest of the film. The writing anticipates the viewer, playing upon the viewer’s expectations for the sake of suspense, anticlimax, and comedy.
To top it all off, The Grand Budapest Hotel boasts an enormous cast of top-notch actors who lend their talents to Wes Anderson’s unusual little world. Ralph Fiennes holds the movie together as Monsieur Gustave, a poetry-quoting, perfume-slathered aesthete who mentors the young Zero. Tony Revolori plays off of him as the impressionable, fastidious Zero, Gustave’s protege, audience, and lackey. The supporting roles are peppered with familiar faces, including Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a must-see for those enjoy well-crafted, stylish movies with plenty of replay value. Anyone who is looking for a light, delicate comedy with an unusual tone would also do well to give it a watch. Those who prefer conventional filmmaking, real history, or more overt humor should look elsewhere. Sensitive viewers should also be warned that, despite its light tone, the movie has pervasive swearing, some vulgarity, and one or two moments of unexpected violence. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a rare treat of a film that is well worth a watch.
8.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.5 for excellent craftsmanship, a unique tone, and plenty of entertainment.