Reviewed by Isabel Pitts ||
If one has never seen a Wes Anderson film, and is interested in his upcoming work, “Asteroid City,” I highly recommend taking a look at his filmography! After watching The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), I feel as if I just had a delightful conversation with an old friend. For the longest time, I did not appreciate the more “artistic” filmmakers, because I did not understand their vision. I always saw works by directors such as Anderson as “pretentious,” only to be enjoyed by people who see themselves as superior, because they know every actor who has ever been on screen. I am older now, and wiser.
The film is a book written by the character, Author, who is telling the story of Zero and The Grand Budapest Hotel of the past. The two sit down to dinner in the now rundown hotel, utterly sad, and old, Zero and a young, curious writer, the Author. There are many things about this film that are a delight to behold, and one thing that makes the film as enjoyable as it is the characters. In The Grand Budapest Hotel, there is a certain gentleness that the characters embody that endears the viewer to them almost immediately. There is Monsieur Gustave, played by Ralph Fiennes, who stands out for his kindness and joyful nature. He employs the word, “darling” when referring to anyone, he says “very good” to affirm his protege, Zero (played by Tony Revolori). M. Gustave’s genuine nature is what keeps him motivated throughout the film, and it even saves his life. He is humble, he notices himself saying things that he does not mean out of anger and follows that with a flood of apologies and promises to be better. He also curses, and he steals, he is entirely human. He is a wonderful character, and it may seem that way because his story is told by Zero from the future. The storytelling is purposely personal, which adds an element of comfort.
Wes Anderson’s films really resonate with me, as a writer. They are either told from the point of view of a writer, or writers as seen in The French Dispatch (2021) or use poetry in several instances throughout the movie like in Moonrise Kingdom (2012). The setting is quiet, the colors are vibrant, and the characters are dressed perfectly according to their job description. Zero, the Lobby Boy, wears a full purple suit and cap, with a pencil mustache drawn on every morning. The old ladies that M. Gustave has won the hearts of dress quite eccentric, with the classic sloppy eye makeup of aged women holding onto their youth. Officer Henckels, played by Edward Norton, wears a dark uniform with a large hat, and a ridiculously styled mustache. It is theater on the screen. It feels ridiculous to write, but there is a stark contrast between film and stage. Compare the experience of watching Shakespeare’s Henry V to Top Gun: Maverick. They are both about combat, both about the success of men, yet one would be unable to hold back their laughter if you tried to say they were the same thing. Anderson is able to merge the two together seamlessly.
Then there is the story itself. Old friends, new jobs, found family, and an art heist that turns into a trail of dead bodies. There is sorrow, there is hope, there is love, and there is loss. We follow the character, Zero, throughout his employment at The Grand Budapest Hotel. He has zero hotel experience, zero schooling, and zero living family members. M. Gustave takes him in as a protege and teaches him the ins and outs of running a hotel with an iron fist. Zero falls in love, so quickly yet so genuinely. Everything that the characters do is genuine, even the ones trying to kill the main characters at every turn. Anderson has an affinity for creating films about youth and love, especially the kind of love that ends painfully. The writing in this movie is such that I wish the movie were three hours more than its actual runtime. One would not expect there to be comedy in a movie about the downfall of a once exceptional hotel, and an old man’s grief. The comedy is tasteful, and subtle. There is one scene I remember near the end, in which a disgruntled heir attempts to shoot Zero and M. Gustave, and triggers all of the hotel guests to brandish their own weapons, resulting in a spontaneous shootout. Recently, movies are split into chapters that present the film’s next important plot points/characters. I personally delight in it, since every film that I have seen with such editing has been a hit. Examples of this are 2022 films Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and Nope. I go back to appreciating the writer, and the reader. Chapters give the viewer something to look forward to, and in a way, it marries two diverse ways that we appreciate art (film and literature).
I have always had an appreciation for actors, and the actors in this film have all starred in recently popular movies. Tony Revolori is a recurring actor in Anderson films, Ralph Fiennes is Slowik in The Menu (2022), Adrien Brody is the quickly murdered American director in See How They Run (2022), and Saoirse Ronan is the constable in the same film. I could write this entire review about the star-studded cast of this film. In Anderson’s films, there are famous actors, but unlike the money grabbing cameos we so often see, big actors join these movies for the art. There are actors like Jeff Goldblum, a national treasure, who simply play attorneys. This film accentuates the artistic and gives a space for every actor to shine whether they are world famous or up and coming. It is the simple story of quirky characters in this quiet, yet eccentric world that is built in The Grand Budapest Hotel that has me raving about it even two hours after watching it. Wes Anderson is directing his newest film, “Asteroid City” coming June of 2023. I cannot wait to see what he has in store!
