The Grand Budapest Hotel - DVD Review
(Picture from 20th Century Fox)
Wes Anderson’s latest concoction of systematic story telling and character quirkiness tells the tale of a preposterously grandeur hotel before the start of the Second World War. It’s inspired solely by the writings of Stefan Zweig – who’s renowned for dealing with death and sadness – so don’t expect this one to be jovial.
This yarn sees the legendary concierge Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his new lobby boy ‘Zero’ (Tony Revolori) tangle with a series of increasingly absurd scenarios after the death of "Madame D" Desgoffe und Taxis (one of the many elderly women Gustave courts) who leaves him a priceless painting. All of this is occurring on the cusp of war, as did Zweig’s Beware of Pity. It communicates a sense of melancholy in a curiously charming and vibrant environment, ironically making the setting more quaint than depressing.
It’s plain to see how Anderson’s style has developed since The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Fantastic Mr Fox. He still uses those side-scrolling, floor-plan shots and chaperones us with a narrator, but here he favours a neater narrative structure, which lends itself to Zweig’s novellas.
In fact, The Grand Budapest Hotel is so similar to Zweig’s work, both thematically and narratively; it’s formulaic, leaving few surprises for those familiar with the Austrian’s writings. Despite this, it’s an incredibly intelligent picture. And with Fiennes in fantastic form, Anderson has everything he needs to extend beyond the medium of film and frolic with poetry and art.
Chris Edwards - CynicalCME
