The film recounts the events of a lobby boy turned millionaire through the recounting of the writer who via a chance encounter came across the story. And this recounting was done through another person reading the book wrote by this writer many years later. Sounds complicated on paper but in fact it was done quite ingeniously as each layer was peeled off like a Russian doll.
Under the lenses of Director Wes Anderson we were able to read this book chapter by chapter and let our imagination run wild. The good thing about this movie is that you do feel like images are leaping off the pages as you imagined when you are reading a book. This approach opened up a lot of possibilities in terms of how shots could be framed. Honestly it might not be everyone's cup of tea but personally I admired how the director managed to balance imagination with story telling. This is extremely important for The Great Budapest Hotel because it is telling a story. The imaginary in the movie are vivid and relevant. Sometimes you feel like you are watching a sequence in a video game, sometimes a dark tale by Tim Burton and sometimes a Baz glamour fest. But no matter what kind of technique was employed they all tied in to the context of the story perfectly. That I think is what is good about The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The Grand Budapest Hotel has recruited a number of who's who in the current acting industry. It is basically a hotel with Oscar winners or Oscar nominees in every room. Some of the big names include Ralph Fiennes as one of the leads to cameos of Tilda Swindon, Adrian Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray and the list goes on. The great thing is that this is truly an ensemble piece. Everyone was just doing his or her part without attempting to upstage anyone. I think this is what great acting is about, know your part and do your part properly. Ralph Fiennes as one of the central characters M Gustav was particular and eccentric. This is a huge departure from his menacing performance as Voldermolt and his heavy and intense workmanship in The Reader. Gustav is a surreal character in a surreal environment. His popularity among older women was uncanny when compared to his pride in maintaining the meticulous high standard of the hotel for those who stay there. The Lobby Boy Zero was played by newcomer Tony Revolori. He is kind of fit for the part but then sometimes you do feel his performance is kind of one-dimensional. There are only a set numbr of looks from him most of the time. However, I have not read the original story so I could not pass judgement whether he is doing a good job or not. However, he did have good chemistry with Ralph’s Gustav, which is important. To be fair he did have some good moments to show the depth of his character. As for great cameo moments from other acting greats in the movie I could never forget Adrian Brody's dark velvet rope in bright red shoes. Those shoes really highlighted his status as a wealthy prick who cares about nothing but his own inheritance. Tilda Swindon's brief moment as the flailing Dowagers was also outstanding. Initially you didn't even notice that it is her. And her comic moments in just a few scenes were just right on the dot.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is not the easiest of the movies to watch and understand. It does require undivided attention to understand the relationships and events. Not that the story is complicated but you would certainly enjoy the movies more when you pay attention to all the tiny bits of details planted by the cast and crew throughout the movie. It is a comedy with its own quirk that distinguishes itself from the pack. Great performances from a great cast is a selling point (as you can see from the movie poster) but be sure to bring an open mind into the theatre before sitting through this production. However, if you are looking for a straightforward comedy, this is not something for you.
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