The Grand Budapest Hotel

When I first saw trailers for 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' I couldn't find enough people to show it to. 'This is going to be Wes Anderson's best film since Rushmore, these funny moments look hilarious and what a terrific ensemble cast!' These were thoughts that I held with me months ago until today when I finally walked into the cinema to see it. My expectations were high for this one and it pains me to say that they were not entirely met.

The plot predominantly focuses on the exploits of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) after he has been accused of murdering one of his former hotel attendees, supposedly to seize their fortune. Together with his faithful lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori) they set out to prove his innocence and escape the psychopathic and disgruntled heirs of the deceased inheritance. It's a fun set-up.

Every role is play perfectly, Fiennes was especially wonderful to watch, his every mannerism was honed as if his hotel duties were engrained into his very DNA. While the film does have an exceptionally strong cast ranging from Anderson regulars like Jason Schwatzman, Owen Wilson and Bill Murray, a large handful feel terribly underused, each earning around 60 seconds of total screen-time which was a shame.  

While the film and characters were riddled with the trademark Anderson quirk, a large majority of the actual content felt flat. Yes, the characters and set-pieces were entertaining, but it was occasionally difficult to find substance amidst the action and be engaged on an emotional level. Things just kind of happen, scenes unfold before our eyes but we take away very little from key moments since most of the characters remain the same throughout. They do not develop.

It's crushing because I know that Anderson is up to the task of creating quirky, yet interesting people. 'Moonrise Kingdom' has the beautiful naivety of first love, 'The Darjeeling Limited' has the expertly realized dynamic of brotherhood amidst a crisis and 'Rushmore' has a perfectly constructed schoolboy who makes human decisions for love. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' felt like a remarkably one note experience in comparison. A lot of fun ideas, but without an emotional core to hold lasting interest in the characters or events, its a little bit difficult to care about what actually happens in the film, which is simultaneously, an awful lot and barely anything.