The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody Movie Review

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Anderson Again

In the years between the wars, the Grand Budapest Hotel is an elite establishment presided over the legendary concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). It is Gustave who personally not only sees to his clients every whim, including sexually satisfying some of the female guests, but also over sees the education of Zero, a new lobby boy. When one of the elderly ladies who Gustave pleasures suddenly passes away he finds himself the recipient of a valuable painting but in turn he becomes a suspect in her murder.

Technically "The Grand Budapest Hotel" ticks a lot of boxes, a heck of a lot of boxes. Visually it is undeniably stylish to the point it is hard not to be impressed by the craftsmanship of Wes Anderson and his cinematographer as well as all those who work behind the scenes to create these detailed and quirky sets as well as costumes. Anderson has also attracted an impressive cast of famous faces who all commit to their quirky characters and often elegant dialogue. And there is also the playful storyline which sees the pristine Gustave on the run.

But whilst "The Grand Budapest Hotel" technically ticks a lot of boxed the one box left unticked on my list is the most important one and not once did this movie entertain me. Now that doesn't surprise me as whilst I have only watched a couple of Anderson's other movies they have equally left me feeling slightly disappointed especially considering the praise Anderson's movies appear to get.

What this all boils down to is that this is simple; if you are a fan of Wes Anderson then you are likely going to love "The Grand Budapest Hotel" but if you have been left bemused by what others have seen in his other movies then you are just as likely to be bemused if you watch "The Grand Budapest Hotel".


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