A typical Wes Anderson film

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2014)

The work of Wes Anderson is very much a required tasted. Known for his quirky style of direction and writing Anderson has a strong fanbase of film fans, but also has his dissenters. His latest film is The Grand Budapest Hotel easily appeals to his fans, but not going to win over his detractors, telling a story of murder, art-theft and impending war as a hotel concierge in a small European country is accused of murder and sets out to prove his innocents.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a highly energetic, almost screwball like comedy filled with witty lines and a cast that most directors would dream of having. Ralph Fiennes gives an excellent comic performance as the softly spoken lead and he has some of the best lines of the flick. Adrian Brody and Willem Dafoe too were strong as the villains, particularly Dafoe playing a cold-blooded thug of a man. It is refreshing to hear the talented Saoirse Ronan being allowed to use her natural Irish accent for once in a film. Some of the jokes do fall flat and serve as an excuse to give some of Anderson's buddies a cameo such as all the different hotel concierges are all calling each other. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a bright, colourful film and Anderson's stamp is all over it with his trademark shots, angles and camera are all present and he makes a fantastic looking film because of its lavish art-direction and cinematography. Alexandre Desplat supplies the music score for the film and it is a fantastic piece of music, one of his best, using the organ as its base.