'The Grand Budapest Hotel' Clip: The Concierge Did It?
As we mentioned in our massive 2014 Movie Preview earlier this week, we’re especially excited for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (ranked No. 18) as a showcase for the comedic talents of lead actor Ralph Fiennes, who has managed to completely upstage an almost absurdly all-star cast in the film’s trailers.
Fiennes is mostly known for playing big baddies, whether in a fantasy context (“Harry Potter”) or one much more brutally realistic (“Schindler’s List”), as well as for getting his ‘serious actor’ on with Shakespeare movies (the underrated “Coriolanus,” which he also directed) and succeeding Dame Judi Dench (“Skyfall”). However, in “Grand Budapest,” Fiennes is funny — really, really funny, utilizing the kind of comic timing — both vocally and physically — that makes us wonder why it’s taken Wes Anderson so long to put him in one of his movies.
[Related: 2014 Movie Preview: The 40 Films We’re Most Excited About]
That comic timing is on full display in our exclusive clip from the film, which serves as an extended look at one of the scenes previously seen in the trailers: M. Gustave (Fiennes) and his trusty lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) greet the police (led by Edward Norton, once again looking right at home in Anderson’s universe), who have come to arrest the concierge as a murder suspect — the kind of situation that apparently calls for just making a run for it, as futile as that may be.
We can’t wait to see how all of the many characters come together in what looks to be Anderson’s most ambitious project yet, though there’s no doubt the sprawling ensemble has a strong center in the form of Fiennes. It will be a pleasure to watch this man keep everything in order and on track, just like a good concierge should.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel" opens March 7.
See Ralph Feinnes in the theatrical trailer for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”:
