Wes Anderson

Rating: 10/10 (25 October 2017)

Wes Anderson is not for everyone. At this point, his films are an acquired taste, and there's enough of a body of work for people to make up their minds whether they like the brand of hand-made, exquisitely carved life-sized doll houses he's selling (if you told me a major director was also a serial killer, my first guess would be Wes Anderson). I happen to be an avid Anderson fan, but I don't argue with people who aren't. His bouts of whimsy are prone to self- indulgence, and his austere emotionalism can be hard to connect with. He's a tremendous filmmaker but he isn't invincible—The Life Aquatic is self-indulgent, The Darjeeling Limited is just plain bad. Still, Wes Anderson on his worst day is better than 98% of working directors on their best.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson working on a very, very good day.