The Grand Budapest Hotel is a classic Wes
Anderson quirky comedy. The movie is all
Anderson-esque including the witty dry humor, the
ornately visual setting, the
impressive ensemble cast, the voice-over narration approach or the presentation
of sub plots in the form of the chapters of a book. Here’s a savory you
wouldn't regret watching!
The film is set at the Grand Budapest Hotel
located in the (fictional) East European
state of Zubrowka - a luxurious hotel managed by the concierge M. Gustave H
(Ralph Fiennes) who spearheads the hotel’s day to day activities with passion
and an almost OCD like
meticulousness along with his protégé Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), a newly
recruited lobby boy.
The core plot revolves around Gustave being
framed for the murder of one of the hotel’s eminent and elderly guests - Madame
D (Tilda Swinton). The film spins around how Gustave - with help from Zero - attempts
to prove himself innocent and battles Madame D’s money grubbing
relatives.
Now before you look at this as a regular
murder mystery, let’s remember
it’s a Wes Anderson movie! It presents the cast, production, creativity and
humour quotients in a fashion
that Anderson is famous for.
Ralph Fiennes takes the cake as Gustave H
(quite literally - as you will find in the movie - a pastry from Herr Mendll’s).
To start with, you don't quite expect Ralph Fiennes in a Wes Anderson movie.
But he is and he has delivered
with perfection a character so beautifully
sketched out by Anderson - a concierge’s passion for service,
of all kinds, to guests, his fuss about everything being
perfect, his compassion for
his sidekick, his ranting preachy sermons delivered even when he is hanging in
the midst of life & death and his witty dry humour.
You would at times want to stand up and clap!
Tony Revolori is a refreshing sight as the
younger Zero Moustafa, with his loyalty to Gustave and love for the baker
Agatha (played by Saoirse Ronan). The ensemble
cast is worth taking note of; most of them regulars in Wes
Anderson movies. Tilda
Swinton as Madame D has a brief but crucial
role setting tone to the plot, Adrian Brody as Madame D’s greedy son Dmitri,
Jeff Goldblum as Kovacs - the family attorney, Willem Dafoe as Dmitri’s henchman
and Edward Norton as Inspector Henckles who scurries
through the story with great comic
timing. Of course cameos by Anderson regulars; Bill
Murray, Owen Wilson and Jason
Schwartzman are ever-so-delightful.
The movie has a brilliant visual setting that
is once again trademark Anderson.
(You will find similar visual settings in his earlier movies like The
Royal Tenenbaums or Fantastic
Mr Fox). Add to that the use
of miniatures to depict the hotel, the hill or the
funicular railway, without touching them up with visual
effects, gives you a nostalgic old movie world
charm.
Keep an eye out
for interesting sets & shots like the use of pastel colours
for the hotel set up or the
grand atrium of hotel (apparently filmed at a German department store that had
survived World War II) or the ‘Society of the Crossed Keys’ scene shown in an
iris shot. The background score is very Russian
and in many scenes the pace laden
score sets the tone for a ‘what happens next’ murderous
suspense.
Finally, the level
of detailing of the humour
and the comic
timing in the movie is applaud worthy, be
it in Gustave’s ranting sermons to his staff or in the
way the Society of the Crossed Keys helps him or even
in the depiction of Gustave’s intimacies with his
guests, the movie has witty dry humor that not
only entertains but also respects your IQ!
With The
Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson
has made a fun (and funny) film with a murder
mystery plot making it a story that everyone will
love (whether you are a Wes Anderson fan or not).
Rating: 5 on 5
Based in Mumbai, Deepti is a travel writer and a content builder for various projects. As an avid movie-watcher, she believes film makers should respect the audiences
’
intelligence and need for ‘real entertainment’
. She also writes about her travels with her toddler on the blog -neverjetlagged.blogspot.com.
