This is Wes Anderson's latest film, and it reminds one of his previous (better) films in some ways - it's got the cartoonish art deco look that he's becoming known for going on in full force, and it's got an air of cartoonish whimsy, and like some of this films there's an air of "old world meets new world". But it reminded me more of someone else's movies, in the way that it mimicks old movies (and books) in a detailed way that could have passed for loving, but then undercuts everything that it's doing with an oppressive air of cynicism and "now watch me pee in the punch bowl" and "WTF, who cares" - I had to sit and think where I'd seen this approach before, and it did come to me - the Coen brothers.
The sad thing is, Anderson could have made a real, poignant movie here if he had wanted to. The story supports one, and parts of this are written well and tug at the heartstrings. But only for a few minutes at a time. The movie instead chooses to focus on trying to make fun of such an old-fashioned thing as drama, or intrigue.
He also could have made a reasonable funny movie here. Some of the performers are very funny (especially Ralph Fiennes) and some of their lines are very funny. But as a comedy, this goes on way too long on one note - snooze inducing - and also suffers from numerous grotesque scenes that detract from any sustained comedic mood.
So what he made here is a big heaping ornate bowl of nothing. Just as the Coen Brothers tend to do. I'm disappointed in this guy ... that's two bad ones in a row. One ("Moonrise Kingdom") that was a reworked Jean-Luc Godard movie, and this one that seems to aspire to be the Coens. Wes, my advice - please just be yourself.
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