Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson has created his most complete, detailed world with his newest film The Grand Budapest Hotel. This witty, funny, and inventive caper will please fans of Wes Anderson but may also win some new fans as well.

Starring Ralph Fienes in one of his very best performances, as M. Gustave, the most amazing concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel. The hotel is located in the fake European town of Anderson's creation. This allows Anderson the freedom of not being tied to any reality and as a result the film often takes on an animated look. Gustave is accused of murder and must clear his name, all while hiding a priceless painting and mentoring Zero the lobby boy.

What ensues is a multi-layered mystery-adventure that combines whimsy and wit. Anderson is playing around with the very idea of storytelling here and the meta nature of the film's structure seems to comment on his own obsessive creative nature. The script features more uses of the f-word than a typical Wes Anderson film usually has and this seems to free up the film from feeling to proper.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is captivating fun. Anderson has already created several great films but this ranks among his very best. The look and feel is familiar but the story is more exciting and twisty than his usual material. Every frame of the film is gorgeous, every line is memorable. Go see it right away.