Hotel Anderson

Rating: 6/10 (30 March 2014)

Wes Anderson films have become events. This maybe because he has his own individual style that doesn't bow down to Hollywood or follow the pack. Even if his films aren't always home runs you can't hate on them too hard because they are completely his own. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" may not be the strongest film in the Anderson library but it is a beautiful film that has its moments.
Anderson's films all have the storybook look to them and what better way to drive this point home than to start the film with a young girl opening up a book that contains the narrative to this story? A young writer, who is briefly played by Tom Wilkinson then handed over to Jude Law, is staying in the famous Grand Budapest Hotel. Though it seems very docile at the moment we find out the hotel has a rich history. The young writer runs into Mr. Moustafa who knows a lot of the history about the place. When he was a young man and looking for his place in the world he worked at the hotel. Zero, as he was referred to as a young man, works under the great Gustave. Gustave runs things by making sure his customers are taken care of in every way possible and I mean every way possible. Let's just say Gustave has a taste for older women. One of these women are Madame D.. When she turns up dead, in an apparent murder, Gustave becomes a suspect even though she left him her most prized possession, a work of art "Boy with Apple". Gustave, with the help of Zero, must secure the painting from Madame D's evil son, Dmitri, and find out who killed her.
Ralph Fiennes is someone who doesn't venture into comedy that often. Here, he gives Gustave a a playful nature that should provide the actor enough evidence to try comedy some more. He sells the physical comedy as well as the witty script by Anderson. Much of his screen time is shared with Zero who is played by Tony Revolori. Revolori who, even though he has had small parts in other films, gets an introduction credit in this film. Fiennes and him have great chemistry together. Zero looks up to Gustave and Revolori sells it with his naive wide eyed optimism even when Gustave passively insults him at times. Overall, Gustave is hard on Zero because he sees the determination in the young man's eyes. The film wouldn't have worked without the chemistry of these two succeeding.
The film's quirkiness does muddle the central story of the murder mystery. In Anderson's early works he seemed somewhat restrained in the way he revealed the oddness of his films. It seems, at times, that he purposely tries to inject each scene with some Wes Anderson-ness. Even though the supporting characters are perfectly played by some of Hollywood's interesting actors they seem more like caricatures than fleshed out people. Still, it is still great to see actors like Saoirse Ronan, who like Fiennes rarely venture into comedy, cut loose. She also like Fiennes does a great job and should do more comedy.
Every shot is beautifully shot with Anderson's precision to detail present. Even a shot of a dessert treat is expertly filmed. Anderson shoots the film in different aspect ratios in each time period. The main part of the story is shot in 4:3 with black blocks on both sides of the screen. This may annoy some viewers but I found it a bold choice that I quickly got used to. The film also mixes sets, miniatures, background paintings, and real life locations quite well. When the movie does sag a bit in its narrative your attention will be picked up again by the gorgeousness shot by cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" isn't a terrible picture by any means. There are moments of greatness in it. It just lacks the natural comedic power that similar odd ball pictures like Anderson's "Rushmore" or "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" contained. Anderson shouldn't have to prove to anyone that he is different from the pack. We have seen this in his growth over the last few years as a film maker but it doesn't seem like he does.