Quirky, witty and a lot of fun!

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2015)

I'm not going to go into much detail on the storyline as I don't want to ruin anything; I will simply state the reasons why I enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Gustave H is an eccentric, colourful, well established hotel concierge who runs the Grand Budapest Hotel using his own quirky style and approach. He has a lobby boy named Zero Mustafa who he works alongside. Before long the two of them are swept into a series of events that bring them closer, turning them from concierge and lobby boy into loyal friends.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is directed by Wes Anderson, meaning that it is going to have a Wes Anderson style quirky twist. People have criticised this movie for this, stating that it is trying too hard to be different, I don't agree with this at all. Yes it is different, yes it is quirky and eccentric but it is magical in its own deserved right. It sucked me into the setting and made me feel much immersed in the movie. The Cinematography is faultless, many scenes are filmed on a back drop that is designed to look like a painting, there are scenes that look gimmicky and there are scenes that feel as if you are watching it in a live play! But these are the reasons that The Grand Budapest Hotel is so enjoyable to watch! The humour is fantastic, it is incredibly witty, and the timing of the punch lines and the use of foul language is done splendidly. Ralph Fiennes who plays Gustave H, the hotel concierge is an incredibly likable and well-presented character. His lobby boy, Zero Mustafa is equally as pleasant and their on screen chemistry grows from nothing in the beginning into a real on screen treat. The supporting cast are also very well picked and they all play their character roles equally well, many of which are well- known faces such as Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Norton, Bill Murray and Jude Law.
If you were the split the film into three sections of beginning, middle and end, and were to compare the pace of the film I would say that it dips in the middle section. It starts off fantastically, you are introduced to the characters in a staggered routine and this keeps you hooked, waiting for who is to come next and what role they are to play. The middle does slow down a little and some of the scenes don't live up to the beginning section. It is still entertaining and kept me hooked, but because the beginning was so strong I think the middle seemed deflated because of this. In my opinion It felt slower paced, the two main characters were shown less screen time during this period and I think the film suffered a little because of this. It did however pick up in the final third and the pace was similar to that of the opening part. It ended strongly and left me very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this film.
The Grand Budapest Hotel succeeds due to great direction, cinematography, script and humour. Its characters are fantastic and some of my favourite characters that I have seen in recent films are on display here. The film is only 90 minutes long but this doesn't stop some impressive character development. I can appreciate that this movie isn't for everyone and it has suffered some poor reviews because of this, but in my opinion it was much better than I was expecting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has since been nominated for Best Picture and I wouldn't argue with that one bit.
8/10