A vibrant murder mystery with a zip in its step, a lump in its throat & grandstanding lead performance by Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel once again has writer/director Wes Anderson proving his worth as one of the more consistently entertaining filmmakers working today.
This comes off Anderson's best work (thus far) Moonrise Kingdom, which saw his formula for deadpan comedy, eccentric characters & strong feel for production design hit its peak in a tale of pure love gone AWOL. The Grand Budapest Hotel doesn't mess with the formula, yet adds other elements for a same yet different approach. It's definitely the most violent of Anderson's works thus far, & in Ralph Fiennes it perhaps also has the most wonderfully flamboyant performance seen yet in an Anderson production.
Fiennes stars as Gustave H., a highly respected concierge at (you guessed it) “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, a world renowned establishment in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka that served only the finest clientele during the 1930s.
The "exceptional service" that Gustave provides for his more elderly (& rich) lady clientele comes with a cost when he is framed for the murder of Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), whose prized painting is willed to Gustave to the chagrin of her scheming son (Adrien Brody). It's up to Gustave & his loyal lobby boy Zero Mustafah (Tony Revolori) to clear his name.
Anderson has a knack for bringing out great, unexpected performances from his actors (Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums, Bruce Willis in Moonrise Kingdom) & he certainly does that with Ralph Fiennes. Gustave's penchant for fine taste, seriousness for his profession and earnest feelings for his ever dutiful lobby boy is brilliantly conveyed by a more than game Fiennes, who has taken to Anderson’s unique approach to character with bombast, blending his trademark intensity with a delightfully zany campiness to make for a wholly unique addition in -what has to be- as diverse a range of characters that you’re going to find from any actor.
Tony Revolori also delivers in what is sure to be a breakthrough performance for the young Californian thesp, proving to be an effective one-two punch alongside Fiennes. A supporting cast of big names ranging from Anderson regulars (Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe) to newcomers (Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Saorise Ronan) are also great.
There is a reason why such great actors always clamour back for what Anderson has to offer, for while his characters do obey a set of eccentricities that is paramount in Anderson’s universe, they also have an empathetic depth to them. Where Rushmore dealt with the struggles of maturity, The Royal Tenenbaums with the dysfunction of family, and Moonrise Kingdom with love at its most pure, The Grand Budapest Hotel is about loyalty to friendship, to country and to conviction.
Sure, the forefront in The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comedic murder mystery, but there is something deeper, sadder also at play here. Anderson’s characters are the vessels that convey the funny with the poignant, a rare combination that his regular (and not so regular) players have taken to delivering with the right amount of playful Anderson rhapsody.
Eight films in and Anderson is sticking true to his formula. Yet with actors as good as Ralph Fiennes delivering exceptional performances like that in the meticulously crafted and entertaining The Grand Budapest Hotel, it’s a formula that works. |