Two words, Ralph Fiennes, reason enough to see Wes Anderson's latest, Grand Budapest Hotel. As with all of Anderson's films it is inhabited by quirky characters existing in the Directors obsessively curated world, this time a grand European hotel. This film is darker than his others, has more violence and meanness, colours we haven't seen much of in his work thus far, but it's a welcome addition. There are lots of Anderson regulars vying for screen time here, Schwartzman, Murray, Swinton, etc. but it is Fiennes whose timing is so brilliant that makes this one shine. Her plays a concierge, lothario, gigolo in a caper film involving money, art, a hotel, crime, and stories within stories within stories. Again, as with all of his films, I can watch them simply for the art direction and use of colour, this one, alive in pinks and purples and reds, which are much more primary than his last outing Moonrise Kingdom with all it's East Coast harvest colours.
I think an Anderson has to be seen to be fully understand, it is a visual treat as much as anything else and this one won't disappoint.
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