The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 (Review 5.0/5.0)

 

The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Director: Wes Anderson

Screenplay: Wes Anderson

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Tom Wilkinson, Soairise Ronan, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel….(there are more)

It is rare that you find movies as quirky and enjoyable as The Grand Budapest Hotel.  The style of film-making is trademark Wes Anderson and I’ve come to realize that I enjoy it immensely.  I had watched another movie of his, Moonrise Kingdom, which is why The Grand Budapest Hotel felt so familiar and equally ‘all-rounded’.  Both movies, for me, have this hard-to-explain ability to mesmerize you and hold you captive to the story and this world that has been created.  They draw you in and you come away with such a full and rich experience.

The Grand Budapest Hotel did just that for me.  Even for those who may not necessarily enjoy this style of film-making and storytelling, this movie will still make you smile in that, ‘huh, what in the world?’ kind of way.  A good smile.

The story revolves around M. Gustave the famed concierge at The Grand Budapest Hotel and lobby boy, Zero, who has just started work at the hotel.  M. Gustave becomes incredibly fond of Zero, taking him under his wing and training him to become a lobby boy worthy of The Grand Budapest.  Zero soon discovers that some of their richest and most loyal patrons come because of M. Gustave.  It is due to this affection for M. Gustave that a wealthy patron, Madame D, bequeaths an expensive  painting upon her death to him.  Her death is soon discovered to be murder and the prime accused is M. Gustave who begins a crazy and funny journey to clear his name with Zero faithfully by his side.

Where do I even begin?  The visuals of this film are what immediately grab your attention.  Rich in colour, texture and context.  The story is even better and I honestly do not even know how one begins to tell such a story and translate that onto the big screen.  But Wes Anderson manages to do so and the transition is flawless.

There are such established actors in this film that it might be easy to ignore the actor playing Zero (Tony Revolori) who for quite a newcomer, plays the role of Zero with a mix of befuddlement and innocence which works really well for the character.  Ralph Fiennes is exceptional as M. Gustave, a concierge with such an outward charming and gentle countenance but who is also lovingly totalitarian in his management of the hotel and the staff, likes to throw in a few expletives now and then, can almost be crass and above all, professional.  Please watch his daily ‘sermons’ on hotel management and hospitality to the hotel staff during meal times.  Here is an excerpt: “Rudeness is merely the expression of fear.  The most dreadful and unattractive person needs only to be loved and they will open up like a flower.”  The other ‘sermon’ I really love  and is probably  my favourite is the one he sends from prison through Zero:

“My dear and trusted colleagues,

I miss you deeply as I write from the confines of my regrettable and preposterous incarceration.  Until I walk amongst you again as a free man, The Grand Budapest remains in your hands, as does its impeccable reputation.  Keep it spotless and glorified, take extra special care of every little bitty bit of it as if I were watching over you as a hawk, with a horsewhip in its talons, because – I am!  Should I discover a lapse of any variety during my absence, I promise swift and merciless justice will descend upon you.  

A great and noble place has been placed under your protection… Tell Zero if you see any funny business.”

What is funnier after this very loving and threatening letter/sermon by M. Gustave, read out by Zero, is Zero’s side note saying that there is a poem after the letter but the hotel staff might want to get started on the meal because the poem is 46 stanzas long!  The content of the poem is hilarious!  That, you have to watch for yourselves.

The supporting cast are superb and all play their individual roles so well that it is hard to pick out just one performance or actor.  I am a bit partial to Bill Murray, another concierge of the Society of the Crossed Keys (secret society of concierges) and Tilda Swinton as Madame D.  It is little gems like these, the creation of a Society of Crossed Keys, the escape from prison, the hotel shoot-out scene, the hilarious poems and sermons etc. that make this film so enjoyable and special to watch.  But truly, Ralph Fiennes and his portrayal of M. Gustave is the captivating centerpiece of an already incredible cast and story.  You forget you’re watching Ralph Fiennes ‘playing’ M. Gustave but instead you feel like he IS M. Gustave.

Watch it.  You won’t be disappointed.