Somewhat self-indulgent and some other problems, but excellent in parts

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2014)

There is a bit of the King's Magic Suit Of Clothes about this film. A bit like "modern art", lots of people will pretend that they like it when in reality they don't. It is self-indulgent for sure and at times Anderson is clearly amusing himself. There is a similarity of style between Anderson and Jean-Pierre Junet (Amelie etc) but Junet has real style to go with his wit whereas Anderson is lacking in these subtleties a lot of the time. I also had a problem seeing what was going on for some of the time. Everything was very dark and perhaps my cinema has a poor projector, but I have never encountered this problem there before and I go frequently. Also the editing was very erratic - some shots needed longer because there was lots to take in that was relevant to the plot. Others were indulgently drawn out. I think I need to see this film again because I think I missed some of the plot and some of the clever "only on for a second" shots. On the plus side, the characters and the actors were excellent. The sets were stunningly brilliant. The story is fascinating and some of the dialogue sparkles with humour. Some of the shots such as the red lift scene are beautifully made and the actors and camera movements are clever before they become repetitious.
So, don't expect a European-Quality film but it has way more quality than the vast majority of US films. If you go to see it, I would sit fairly close to the screen in a good central position and be prepared to watch very closely so you don't miss anything. You'll probably really enjoy it!