The Grand Budapest Hotel

Rating: 9/10

If there is one truth in Wes Anderson's directing career, it is that he's getting more ambitious and better for it. Much like Tarantino or like Tim Burton, you can tell an Anderson movie the minute you get into it. His style always seems to remain in his roots, which I'm grateful for. While I wasn't a huge fan of his "Rushmore" I liked the attitude of the main character and his snippets with adults and kids alike. 16 years later you can still see bits of that "Rushmorian" DNA in this film, while Anderson still makes up new characters and more interesting situations with co-writer Hugo Guinness.

By "Rushmorain" DNA I mean, the simple act of main characters talking with wonderful vocabulary at a very fast pace and sounding very smart while doing it. This is evident in almost all of Anderson's films but here it works remarkably well in Ralph Fiennes's character of Mr. Gustave who runs the Grand Budapest Hotel. Strangely though, while he is the main focus, he isn't the main character. That falls to the character of Zero played by Tony Revolori, whose older self, played F. Murray Abraham, is narrating the story of his adventures with Gustave, to an author played Jude Law (who I believe is supposed to be a characterization of author Stefan Zweig), years later in what remains of the hotel. I should note too that Anderson has admitted in the film that Grand Budapest is inspired by Zweig's work. Overall, I'm making it seem more convoluted then it is, but there's also a lot going on. Gustave, as you find out very early on, as a habit of "accommodating" his much older lady guests, one in particular, Madame D. played by Tilda Swinton. Things turn sour when Madame D. ends up dead and the murder is pinned on Gustave. What follows is a story of more murder, train rides, a prison escape, and Anderson's unique way of showing the Nazi occupation of Europe. Really to say anymore about the plot would spoil the fun of what Anderson has made, and I think it's best to go into this film knowing as little as possible, but there's the "basic" plot. All I can say and recommend is what I would say of most great Wes Anderson films: the acting is wonderful, the film is beautiful and bittersweet, and you've got a cast of characters you won't likely forget any time soon. 

The real accomplishment of the film is that you can see Anderson's scope as a director. He's expanded his scope and become more daring, yet never compromising himself in his vision. It's a true Wes Anderson film through and through. I wish I could write more about the film for there's a lot here to love, especially the performances of Madame D's children played by Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe, but a lot of the fun comes from experiencing the film for yourself. And strangely, I don't think I've ever felt that way about a Wes Anderson film before, at least from a critiquing standpoint. Either way, I can recommend you won't be bored and Anderson throws enough liveliness into his characters and situations to keep you on your toes. Take that as you will.