Review - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Rating: 7/10 (16 February 2015)

Cinemark's Oscar Movie Week continues with a film that premiered almost a full year before it was nominated for Best Picture. Director Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is easily his best film to date, but for someone like myself who particularly loathes his work, that wasn't a difficult task.
The story tells the adventures of concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) of the prestigious titular establishment and his newly- hired lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori). After one of the hotel's most welcomed guests is murdered, the two set out to solve the mystery while running from the police who believe they did it. All of this is set to the backdrop of the limbo between the two World Wars.
Everything you would expect from a Wes Anderson film is present here. He's never really grown as a filmmaker when it comes to writing or production. He has managed, however, to find a decent balance here. While I normally find his films stilted and off- putting, this time the themes and setting work well to compliment his style. The humor dark but also lighthearted in a way that gives it an old-timey feel. My only real gripe would be the pacing, which drags a bit here and there.
The performances from everyone involved are amusing and serve their purpose well. There are a lot of people in this, too. Along with Fiennes and Revolori, you have F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Edward Norton, and Saoirse Ronan, just to name a few. Goldblum especially stands out as the deceased woman's attorney. He may not have made it back to Jurassic Park this year, but at least we got to see him don this goofy goatee in 2014.
I consider myself a forgiving person, so I'm willing to admit when someone whose work I have no always enjoyed accomplishes something genuinely charming. I won't say he's redeemed himself in my eyes, but for the first time in my life I can say that I am looking forward to the next Wes Anderson film.