Grand Budapest Hotel - reviews of Wes Anderson's new comedy
Critics are calling Wes Anderson's new film starring Ralph Fiennes, stylish, deadpan and 'wonderful'
What you need to know
Wes Anderson's new comedy-drama, Grand Budapest Hotel opens in UK cinemas today. Director and co-writer Anderson is best known for his Oscar-nominated films The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and The Fantastic Mr Fox.
Grand Budapest Hotel stars Ralph Fiennes as the concierge of a luxury hotel in the fictional Eastern European Republic of Zubrowka who is framed for the murder of a wealthy guest who favoured him in her will. He teams up with the lobby boy and embarks on an odyssey to prove his innocence.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What the critics like
Here is "another meticulously stylish and deadpan Wes Anderson movie that walks the fine line between masterpiece and folly", says Damon Wise in Empire. It's a rich and characterful farce that brings to mind the early Pink Panther movies with Fiennes echoing Peter Sellers's bumbling, good-hearted innocence and elegant way with words.
Anderson's "intensely pleasurable" film is like a magnum of champagne that makes you light-headed on the pure fun of it, says Tim Robey in the Daily Telegraph. Fiennes is an unexpected star with supreme skill and timing, and the supporting cast is an unmatched smorgasbord of ensemble players - it's wonderful.
Every shot is gorgeously framed, with screwball rhythms and deeper notes that make Anderson's picture worth repeated viewing, says Siobhan Synnot in The Scotsman. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a confection – "deceptively light, very rich, and decidedly moreish".
What they don't like
For all its gorgeous frills and furbelows, Anderson's film never seems to be quite sure what it is about, says Dana Stevens in Slate. It touches on big, dark themes of nostalgia and the fate of 20th-century European history but never quite gets to the deepest, darkest places those paths might lead.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Onion is having a very ironic laugh with Infowars
The Explainer The satirical newspaper is purchasing the controversial website out of bankruptcy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What's next for electric vehicles under Trump?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for Tesla's Elon Musk?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The Week Recommends The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
By The Week UK Published