Wes Anderson's Best Film (for a non-fan)

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2015)

I'll be up front about something: I don't like Wes Anderson movies. I don't think they're necessarily bad, but they've never actually entertained me. I recognize his talent, and would never say that his films are poorly made (there's no doubt that the man is meticulous,) but he's never grabbed me with anything he's ever done. So imagine my surprise at not only liking, but indeed LOVING this movie.
The film (in a somewhat complicated fashion) follows the adventures of a young lobby boy named Zero and the legendary concierge known as Gustave. The two find themselves embroiled in a series of events that threaten not only themselves, but the titular hotel that has become the center of both of their worlds. Hijinks ensue, and I prefer to leave it at that.
In pinpointing what I loved about this film, I was able to nail down three things that it has that I feel Wes Anderson's other films do not (or at least no other film has all three.) Firstly, it has a likable protagonist. Most of Anderson's main characters I find either too self centered or too emotionally stunted to connect with or root for. Gustave however is endlessly charming and fun, and a loyal friend to those he feels deserve it. Secondly there is an audience surrogate in the form of young Zero. He asks the questions that rarely get asked in Anderson's movies, basically by being the closest to a real world character who stops and says "wait, what's going on?" when the audience needs that same question answered. And finally there is an actual plot and story that is interesting unto itself, whereas most of Anderson's films don't have plots as much an excuse for the eccentric characters to be put in a room together. These three factors added to Anderson's masterfully crafted imagery makes for a truly splendid film.
Though Ralph Fienes completely steals the show as Gustave, there isn't a weak performance in the film. Everybody is operating with wonderful energy, and even as things turn dark from time to time the film is aggressively funny. There's a wonderful screwball atmosphere to everything going on that doesn't let things feel dour and serious even with some events could have been quite dark.
For somebody who's never really gotten into Anderson's work before, this was just the perfect marriage of material, directorial approach, characters and actors. All the perfect elements come together to form this wondrous film. It doesn't suddenly make me like Anderson's other films, but it does make me glad that he made them since they appear to have been leading up to this.