A Magnum Opus for its Director and Grand Fun

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2017)

When this Wes Anderson film debuted in 2014, I was only vaguely familiar with the eccentric filmmaker that is Wes Anderson and was curious at this new release. After the movie was available to rent, I immediately went to the library and got my rental. Not knowing what to expect I was braced to may be not like the movie (I had only seen "The Royal Tennebaums" at the time), but was laughing myself silly within ten to twenty minutes of the run-time. Wes Anderson managed to blend elements of drama and comedy into the prefect recipe for fun in this delightful romp throughout the film.
The film's premise is quite simple: an accomplished writer recounts his trip to the film's titular hotel back in his youth and is subsequently told the tale of how the hotel's current owner came to acquire the hotel. Interspersed with flashbacks we are thrown to a comedic and suspenseful narrative of wrongful accusations of murder, a stolen painting, prison escape, chases and a touching bond between opposite personalities.
As expected, director Wes Anderson collects a vast array of colorful actors and actresses to portray the delightfully oddball players of his cinematic world. Outside of normal collaborators in minor roles, the film is bolstered by the dynamically offbeat performance of Ralph Fiennes as the bizarrely eccentric Monsieur Gustav H, the owner of the Grand Budapest in the 1932 flashbacks. Fiennes does bring his usual stoicism to the role, but in a hilarious twist piles on a dignified yet humorously profane comedic persona that is beyond enchanting. There's no shortage of quotable dialogue from M. Gustav as he delivers eloquent poetry, spouts scathing quips or has his off-putting bouts of inserting profanity into his monologues.
Aiding Fiennes' wacky concierge is the naive yet eternally loyal Zero, played to near perfection by newcomer Tony Revolori. Revolori brings a youthful zazz to the character as Zero must quickly learn to adapt to his surroundings and the situations he is placed in, but there is even a world weariness to the young man as we later learn of his difficult past prior to arriving in Zubrowka Province at the start of WWII. The chemistry between Fiennes as Gustav and Revolori is so touching as the men become almost like a father and son by the story's end; "We're brothers" as Zero states after helping Gustav escape prison and reminding the bewildered concierge why he (Zero) has remained a faithful employee and friend. Bonus to director Anderson for casting Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham as the elder Zero in the 1968 time-line; bringing the wisdom needed to tell the writer the story with gravitas.
The film boasts a stellar supporting cast in players like Saoirse Ronan as pastry chef and Zero's loyal and brave girlfriend, Agatha, Tilda Swinton as elderly wealthy widow Madame D (sadly we get little time to see Swinton deliver the goods in her performance but she leaves her mark), Jeff Goldblum as ill-fated lawyer Deputy Vilmos Kovacs, Edward Norton as a Nazi-inspired officer who really isn't a horrible guy but only doing his job, and as the film's memorable baddies are Adrien Brody as Madame D's scheming son, Dmitri, and as his muscle is a mostly silent Willem Dafoe as the sinister, sadistic psychopathic Jopling. It's up to the latter two actors to be as villainous as needed without delving into caricatures which both actors do with finesse. Dafoe in particular delivers the chills as he looms in the shadows and menaces unsuspecting targets with little dialogue, somber glares and violent tactics to accomplish means to an end. This is used to perfect effect during the museum chase when Jeff Goldblum's Kovacs tries to elude Dafoe's Jopling; Anderson utilizes the isolation of each exhibit room, sound of footsteps and shadows to build the tension in the scene until the shocking outcome (hint: it doesn't end well for one of them).
Director Wes Anderson decides to use a bright color palette for the setting of "The Grand Budapest Hotel" to bring out the whimsy and comedic tones. We are presented with light shades of purple, white snow and various light and bright shades of pink particularly the pink exterior of the film's titular building and then we see the reds, purples and golds of the interior to bring the world to life. There are few dark colors like grays, black and dark blue hues for the villains, the internment camp, the Nazi-style uniforms of the soldiers and the pre-dawn sky.
A visual treat, excellent acting and a delightful story that will appeal to any Wes Anderson fan.