The Grand Budapest Hotel Review
RYAN: It’s the latest from auteur Wes Anderson whom I’ve never really gotten as a director. I’ve always appreciated his effort and visual expression but the vibe of his movies, while quirky, irked me. Until now! The Grand Budapest Hotel is brilliant. It’s like Wes just worked out all the kinks making his previous films and finally made a movie the way he’s been trying to his whole career.
CAROLINE: Whoa, Ry – that’s a whole lotta turn around. Yeah I tend to agree with you. I’ve appreciated some of his previous work but also often found it off-putting and boring, frankly.
RYAN: This one isn’t boring. It’s fascinating. And it has all the elements Wes puts in movies that are so precious, like a sense of fairy tale fantasy, candy color, quirky characters and designs as though they sprang to life from the pages of a gorgeously illustrated book – but beyond that, the story, humor, and drama are wonderful.
CAROLINE: Are you saying you’re a convert? A Wes Anderson fan now?
RYAN: Well it’s still the only of his movies I like so, we’ll see what the future holds. This is a fun movie – it’s tightly-written, choreographed, creatively shot and so awesomely acted.
CAROLINE: Yes, who did you love in the cast?
RYAN: Everyone – It’s one of the best roles of Ralph Fiennes’ career. He shows such range all within this character. Tilda Swinton is brief, unrecognizable and brilliant. I always enjoy Saoirse Ronan, plus there’s Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe. And regulars – Jason Schwatrzman, Edward Norton, Bill Murray…
CAROLINE: Who’s the kid?
RYAN: Tony Revolori. He’s certainly a bit out of his league here but being kinda green is fitting for the role and while he’s a bit flat, it punctuates the flamboyance of his famous costars.
CAROLINE: Oh awesome. It really does sound great.
RYAN: The costumes are cool – they add a heightened sense of realness to all of the fantastical. And Wes really has an obsession with the color orange. Everything is orange everywhere – and also pink.
CAROLINE: He also tends to color things to add atmosphere.
RYAN: It’s funny. I actually LOL’d a few times. Part of why this movie is better is because it’s a little less quirky and just more stylized; whereas his previous movies were just so outlandishly quirky to the point of annoying.
CAROLINE: Interesting comparison.
RYAN: He changes aspect ratio to indicate time differences which I really appreciated. It adds an almost Wizard of Oz effect to the story. And the overall timing of everything is impeccable.
CAROLINE: He really impressed you this time!
RYAN: It works. I am delighted by this film and finally feel like I get him as an artist. I’d easily watch this one again.
