A lot of Style but Little Substance

Rating: Null/10 (14 February 2015)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
** (out of 4)
Wes Anderson's critically acclaimed film tells the story of concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) who befriends a young lobby boy and goes on an adventure dealing with a priceless stolen painting.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL has gotten some of the greatest reviews of the year and it even managed to pick up several Oscar-nominations but it just didn't work for me. Every once in a while a film will come along that I watch and I can understand why so many people love it but it just doesn't sit well with me. This film is a perfect example because there's no question that the film has some very good performance, has it's own look, feel and style and there's also no doubt that it's really unlike anything you've seen before. With that said, the film just felt like all style and very little actual substance.
There's no question that Anderson is one of the most interesting director's working today and he often creates films that are just so original and fresh that they seem to take place in some weird, alternate universe. This film certainly fits into that category because visually speaking it's quite remarkable and it seems like each shot must have taken hours to set up in order to get right. The miniatures used in the film are obviously miniatures but it's clear they were shown like this for a purpose. It builds atmosphere. There color and set design is another major plus working for the film and especially the lay-out of the hotel.
Another thing that works are the performances with each actor doing a very good job. Not only do we have Fiennes but there's also F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe, both who easily steal the show. There's certainly nothing to complain about in regards to the performances as everyone steps up and comes across with very original characters.
Having said all of that, I just never once connected with the film and this is certainly not good when watching something. Obviously many people love this movie and it's a hit with most critics but to me there just wasn't much here to keep me entertained.