We have exactly one month to go before Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is unveiled on the opening night of the Berlin Film Festival. We recently featured the film in our Most Anticipated Prestige Films list, but if your appetite still needs whetting, Fox Searchlight have unveiled another two clips from the all-star comedy, both focused principally on the dashing manager of the titular hotel, played by Ralph Fiennes, and his wide-eyed new lobby boy Zero, played by Tony Revolori.
If you hadn’t already guessed (or seen the trailer) the clips promise a typical Anderson affair: dry, droll humor, airily heightened performances, generally jazzy energy and all the art direction the screen can bear. Fiennes looks to be on particularly playful form, and the introductory stroll through the hotel is shot with zippy panache. I run hot and cold with Anderson, but the amount of fun he’s evidently having here will hopeful prove infectious. Meanwhile, is an Anderson film finally going to net some awards recognition for production design? Adam Stockhausen should net his first nod for “12 Years a Slave” next week, but everything we’ve been shown of his work here is wonkily dazzling.