Movie Information
Release Date: March 6, 2014
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Stefan Zweig, Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Lea Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori, Larry Pine, Giselda Volodi, Florian Lukas
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 100 minutes
By: Scott Rudin Productions, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsberg
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English, French
Country: USA, Germany
Wes Anderson films are always fantastic, or at least I always here about how fantastic they are. As embarrassing as it is, I’ll admit this was the first Wes Anderson film I seen (and won’t be my last). Yes, yes, yes I know, I know, I heard he’s great. You are probably frustrated and have stop reading by now, but if you’re still here you might be glad to hear I enjoyed the hell out of this flick. I cannot compare this to his previous films because I simply haven’t seen them. I can say that he measured up to all the hype I’ve heard in the past years with classics like the Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore, and I cannot wait to see more.
It’s clear Wes has complete control of his features. That’s obvious from the shots he gives and the diverse cast that’s present. I mean my goodness, I have not seen such a vast cast like this in quite sometime. Each character carries their own weight, and whether major or minor they spoke volumes. Willem Dafoe’s character says all but three lines and his character was the most memorable. Even if you have seen the trailers I do not want to go down the list, due to the more surprises you may get the better. Just know the cast is deep and everyone brings their own flavor to the party.
I honestly felt I was in a doll house with the movie itself under control of Wes Anderson’s direction. His story telling is very welcoming even though at some points it suffered due to the lack of narration that was prevalent in its opening. I was engaged and cared about the characters presented to me. Even if it was in prequel form (which can remove stakes). I was curious with how one main character came to be and the life he leads that seemed so different during his childhood.
I’m still in awe with how Anderson got away with some of the camera work. Not knowing where the set ended and the CGI began (if any). I was thrown into this European world that was colorful and bright. Had humor throughout, and with a clever climax mixing both comedy and tension simultaneously. It’s probably obvious that his films are quite different from most, because he clearly leaves his stamp of personality here. I honestly can’t wait for more free time to catch up on all of Wes Anderson’s work to be able to witness great filmmaking.