Unique, quirky and wonderful

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2016)

I know I'll tick some readers off by opening up this piece by saying that usually I'm not a fan of Wes Anderson's films. But it's the truth. His pristine postcard precision is all well and good, but often seems to be completely absent of any kind of emotional heft with which to round out his visually impressive efforts. His output just has a forced, deliberately quirky vibe that generally makes me want to tear my hair out. Happily, I can say that's changing for me, starting with the excellent Moonrise Kingdom, and continuing on to his absolutely brilliant masterpiece The Grand Budapest Hotel. Finally the man is injecting some human warmth into his pastel pantomimes, giving us something to cling to besides the droll banter he has become famous for. It's like he's reached a maturity in his work that leaves behind the solely idiosyncratic, frustratingly hipster qualities which put him on the map, adding elements that will appeal to more people and in turn make his work much more accessible. Budapest is a rollicking wonder of European wartime wonder as seen through the eyes of the various staff and guests of the titular mountaintop establishment. The dashing concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes in a performance of legendary, dashing suave) takes a young lobby boy Tony Revolori) under his wing, making him privy to a series of madcap adventures involving all kinds of oddball nut jobs from the hotel and the surrounding area. When his elderly lover (Tilda Swinton buried in dusty makeup) croaks, her villainous son (a mustache twirling Adrien Brody) seeks to purloin Gustave's portion of the will with the help of his nasty, stoic henchman Jopling (a priceless Willem Dafoe). The pace quickens as the plot thickens from that point, as Zero meets the love of his life in local chocolatier's assistant Agatha (Saoirse Ronan), and the two of them attempt to evade the law and Brody's reach in the funniest, most touching comedy of errors in years. Anderson attracts some of the best actors around, and here he gathers together the best cast he's ever assembled, including Bill Murray, Fisher Stevens, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Wilkinson, Mathieu Almaric, Owen Wilson, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law and more. F. Murray Abraham has a touching appearance as the older version of Zero, physically wealthy yet left on his own by time and tragedy. Anderson spins a carnival show of colourful happenings, with a cast that's ready to bite. Die hard fans of is style saw this as another great entry in his filmography. I see it as the first in a line of flicks I've been able to really enjoy and relate to, and I hope he brings us more.