A decent and enjoyable tale elevated by visual panache

Rating: 8/10 (14 November 2014)

Although it has a rather ordinary story, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL is told in an interesting way, and with some of the most picturesque cinematic images I've seen in recent years. The story is about Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), who is the concierge of the titular hotel. He takes a young immigrant boy, Zero, under his wing as his new lobby boy. Over the course of the movie they go on a series of adventures stemming from the death of one of Gustave's many lovers, Madame D (an almost unrecognizable Tilda Swinton) and a painting called "Boy with Apple." They also meet many colorful characters on the way, played by Wes Anderson's usual stable of actors. I must confess to not being the biggest Wes Anderson fan, and in fact, this is only the second of his films that I have seen, after BOTTLE ROCKET. There is a certain air of pretentiousness that one can feel about his work, like he's only making these films to amuse himself. Yet, there was a playfulness with this one and, in the end, a rather emotional turn that won me over. Don't get me wrong, i enjoyed the film and thought it was immaculately composed from a visual perspective. It was like every frame could be a perfect photograph, and this is definitely where Wes Anderson's strengths lie. I also enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters with which this film was populated. Though most of the big name actors who appeared here took what basically amounted to cameos, they brought a lot to the few scenes in which they appeared. As far as acting is concerned, everyone gave a great performance, especially Ralph Fiennes. Wes Anderson's flowery and poetic dialogue just flowed off of his tongue effortlessly, and with style. The actor who played a young Zero also did a fine job in his first role. Overall, I thought this was an excellent, if typical Wes Anderson film. The story does get a bit convoluted in the end, but the stylistic choices and the way you are enveloped in this fantasy world overshadows any weakness that the narrative has. A definite must-see, especially for Wes Anderson fans.