Wes Anderson’s newest quirky film ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ is in theatres now and it may be his best one yet.
As a fan of Anderson’s movies (‘Bottle Rocket,’ ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ ‘The Darjeeling Limited,’ ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ and many many more!), I could not wait to see this film. His films are always fun, colorful, clever and always superbly enjoyable.
Like all of his films, ‘Grand’ is full of A+ celebrities, some of which just have a bit part. Included are Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson and Owen Wilson—that’s just part of the list of recognizable stars in the film.
A young actor many moviegoers may not be as familiar with, Tony Revolori, plays one of the film’s leading roles. Tony has had roles in several TV series like ‘Entourage’ and ‘Shameless’ but this is his first major film role and he proves he is a serious movie star. Although he plays a young boy named Zero in ‘Grand,’ he is anything but a zero. He is an energetic lobby boy under the tutelage of M. Gustave, a legendary concierge played by Ralph Fiennes. The two strike up a friendship that extends far beyond their jobs at the luxurious hotel.
M. Gustave finds himself in a bit of a pickle when one of his most loyal customers, Madame D, is murdered and he inherits a high valued piece of art. Madame D’s son will stop at nothing to keep the painting out of the hands of Gustave; therefore Gustave does the only thing he knows to do—steal it!
Hilarity and hi jinks ensue in some serious laugh-out-loud moments. Anderson is careful with his humor, balancing between clever and down right silliness. The humor in ‘Grand’ is reminiscent of older movies, in which the humor is not only heard through dialogue but seen through the physicality of the characters. They put their whole beings into these off-the-wall characters, from the way they speak to the way they walk, run and jump! Like all of his stories, Anderson does not solely rely on humor; he uses his character’s relationships to pull at your heart strings and shine a more dramatic light on the events.
Anderson has a true gift in storytelling. He uses every bit of the cinema to his advantage to portray his point—from line delivery to costuming to the color palette, you can sense that every creative choice he makes is deliberate. I would recommend ‘Grand’ to any Wes Anderson fan and even to those who haven’t liked his previous movies.
