Review of The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) by Bradysmith — 02 Dec 2014

After watching the G.B.H. again, I enjoyed it more than the first time around. It's a Wes Anderson movie, and it comes with all of his quirks, good and bad. This time though, I felt like his characters were given some room to breath.

Ralph Fiennes, in the lead role, gives a great performance. Anderson has created a really memorable character for him to inhabit. In Moonrise Kingdom, I felt like the characters and performances were secondary to the production and set pieces, but here Anderson has corrected that mistake.

The movie also doesn't put young children into shocking situations like Kingdom did, which is a plus for me since I found those situations to be morally lacking. The production design here is still top notch, especially the hotel itself.

The ending is unexpectedly poignant, and it highlights just how much you've come to care for the characters over the relatively brief running time. Overall, it's a memorable and funny movie. It's still somewhat of an acquired taste, but I can't deny its quality, uniqueness, or the fact that I enjoyed it quite a bit.