The Grand Budapest Hotel

Filled with his intricate and surreal settings, as well as his trademark low key absurd humor, there is no doubt that The Grand Budapest Hotel is the work of Wes Anderson, a highly polarizing director whom his fans (of which I am one) deem wonderful, while his detractors find distracting and lacking human emotion.  As a fan, I enjoyed much of the film, but wouldn't put it alongside some of his best entries like Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Rushmore.  It offers plenty of laughs and a unique narrative structure, but it did not linger as strongly afterward as his best films have.

As the film opens, a young woman stands in a cemetery, holding a book written by an author, whose grave she is standing before.  We then cut to the 1980s, where that author (Tom Wilkinson) is discussing the art of writing and storytelling to the camera, and begins to share how one of his stories was inspired by a real life event.  We then flashback once more, to the 1960s, where we enter the mostly-abandoned Grand Budapest Hotel, a place which was once the pride of the fictional European Republic of Zubrowka. but is now a shadow of its former glory.  One of its few guests just happens to be a younger version of the author (now played by Jude Law).  Here, we see how the author encountered and struck up a friendship with the owner of the hotel, Mr. Mustafa (F. Murray Abraham).  As the two share dinner together in the hotel restaurant, Mr. Mustafa's story (the same that the author would write about some 20 years later) unfolds, and takes us back to the 1930s, where the main storyline occurs.

In this storyline, Europe is on the brink of war due to a fascist government taking control.  However, within the walls of the Grand Budapest Hotel, Zubrowka's premier luxury resort, everything is impeccable due to the efforts of its head concierge, M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his assistant "Lobby Boy", Zero Mustafa (Tony Revolori).  One of Gustave's primary joys in his job is bedding the elderly and wealthy women who frequent as guests.  When one of his regulars (Tilda Swinton, still recognizable, but hidden under an incredible make up job) dies, she leaves a valuable painting in Gustav's name.  This angers the old lady's heirs, particularly her son Dmitri (Adrian Brody), who seeks to get it back with the aid of a psychotic madman (Willem Dafoe), who is always at his side.  Meanwhile, Gustave is framed for the murder of the old woman, and is sent to a prison camp.  His efforts to escape, as well as find a missing copy of the old lady's second will (which could put a damper on Dmitri's inheritance plans) makes up the bulk of this plot.

As usual, Wes Anderson fills his film with a diverse cast, many of whom are actors who have appeared in his past films, such as Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Owen Wilson and Edward Norton to name a few.   But it is the main newcomer to Anderson's world, Ralph Fiennes, who leaves the biggest impression.  Not only is this a rare comedic role for the actor, he's positively charming portraying the well-mannered, strongly perfumed and gentlemanly M. Gustave.  And yet, in some of the film's funniest moments, he will drop his distinguished act, and let loose a string of profanity if he is angry or threatened.  The relationship he builds with young Zero also has some oddly sweet moments, and Fiennes really just throws himself into this completely original and endearing character he's been given.  He not only gives the strongest and funniest performance in the film, he's almost reason enough to see the film.

Fortunately, The Grand Budapest Hotel holds many other charms outside of its lead performance.  While not his funniest film, the movie still has a number of laugh out loud moments, such as the way Anderson pokes fun at prison escape dramas during the sequences Gustave is behind bars, or the hilariously low tech chase scene that occurs down a ski slope.  There are a lot of intentionally whimsical moments where we know that what we are looking at are elaborate models or tiny toy figures, but these moments only add to the charm of Wes Anderson's bizarre yet beautiful world.  As with all of his films, the visuals have been beautifully crafted, and look like nothing else on the screen.  It really is a shame that the films he makes end up being so polarizing to audiences and critics.  I would love to see this kind of skill and craft be accepted by a wide audience.

If you are not a fan of Wes Anderson, I do not see this film converting you or changing your mind.  If you are, you'll likely enjoy it, but find it a fairly minor effort that moves by quickly enough and has some big laughs, but not as much as some of his past films.  Still, with the way Wes Anderson works so far outside of the norm with his humor, narrative and visual style, the arrival of one of his films is always a reason to be excited, and The Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception.

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