Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Ah….Wes Anderson, how can one not adore you? With a very particular style, I’m actually kinda surprised how his films continue to stay fresh. He has yet to fall into the trap like Tim Burton of only embodying one style to the point where you can’t evolve as a director. So how does Wes Anderson escape this? It’s hard to say, but I’m sure the constant changing moods created within his films plays a part...
In all honest, despite my blinded love of all things Wes Anderson, this film was not his best. It has some amazing moments that lift your heart and whisk you away to his world, but it deeply contrasts the moments that made me feel empty. Though, I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing, but I still wanted just a bit more perhaps. I’ll explain that in a more logical way briefly.

This is the story about an author trying to understand the story of a rich man who despite having it all doesn’t seem happy. And so we get swept into the world of how the Grand Budapest Hotel reached its peak and how it made its way to a slow descent. I think there’s not much point in mentioning how artistically this film certainly succeeds on all levels. But to sum it briefly, it paints a world so colourful and merges both fiction and reality into one. It is without a doubt at least a beautiful film to admire.

The cast is basically Anderson’s band of treasured actors with the introduction of Tony Revolori who plays the Bell Boy named Zero. Let’s just leave it off at the fact that Anderson has quite a knack for finding all the best young actors out there who fit the perfect image of what you’d expect in his films. It also probably helped this newcomer greatly that he was alongside the great Ralph Fiennes. They made a convincing duo, but not to the extent that I think the script later envisioned for them. 

Entering the spoiler territory now, the moment of emptiness I am referring to is at the end upon realize that Gustave’s pain is rooted in his affection for Zero. I just personally didn’t buy into it. It was sad and sudden for the viewer, but the stylistic choice of just skipping over all the events through narration gave the audience little time to really process it all. So to end the film on a note that relies quite heavily on our ability to feel for these two characters and how one misses the other, kinda leaves me in a weird spot considering that affection was hard to understand. Now in regards to why this emptiness I felt may be good, after thinking about it for a while, I figured in some ways maybe that is what Anderson wanted me to feel. Like something is missing from the ending we got, much like what is missing for Gustave. Of course that may be just a fancy way to cover up my disappointment.

Though, as previously mentioned, there was no doubt about it that other moments swept me away. Particularly part four with the escape plan. Everything about it was so filled with whimsy from the set to even the way our duo ran. To me at least, it was no doubt the shining scene of the film. Also, before closing off, I feel need to mention the wonderful performance by Adrien Brody who in some ways, just felt too perfect for this role. Shame there wasn’t more of him….

Anyway, for the most part, this was a fantastical film! It paints a beautiful landscape of some far away land, while still holding enough ground in the real world. Seeing as this was a very typical Wes Anderson film, and while still remaining fresh, I’m interested in seeing where he’ll go from here. Perhaps the grim ending may be foreboding of a different style and world he may want to enter?