Hotel Disappointed

Wes Anderson's short film "The Hotel Chevalier" has premiered on iTunes.

If you are so inclined, click here to launch iTunes and download it. It's free, so don't be shy.

Mmm'kay.

You've all watched it then?

Good.

Soooo... I really wanted to like this. I did. I laughed pretty much right off the bat. Loved the exchange with the room service person, asking about the grilled cheese. Great. I was feeling Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman's phone call... I liked the vibe.

But then Wes Anderson and his editor forgot how to edit.

Let's take a step back for a second. I love movies that take their time and let scenes breathe. I like long takes, or shots where the camera reframes several times. Want to see a great example of that? Go see Children of Men.

But this? This is just sloppy. Almost every take is full of dead space, and goes on just... a... little... too... long. There's a reason few director's dare to attempt this stylist choice— it's friggin' hard! Extensive rehearsal is necessary to get camera and performance to move at the proper pace, with carefully synchronized timings. You can't just write a scene, set up a camera, and go.

"The Hotel Chevalier" has no energy. Yes, it's about two melancholy, depressed characters, but the film still needs to move. Bill Murray's character in Rushmore is just as sad and pathetic, but his scenes have actual life to them. Here, Portman and Schwartzman feel limp and boring— a total disservice, as they are both fantastic actors.

Editing is how you add dynamism to scenes such as these.* You juxtapose images, cut across time, and give us a quicker glimpse at these sad, slow lives. Give me a day and an Avid (or FinalCut Pro system) and I could give "Chevalier" the graceful edit it needs.** Because there is some amazing stuff in this short; it's just that it's still got the gristle and fat surrounding it. Someone needs to dress this steak to make it palatable.

This is a special shame because so much of it is good, or almost good. Fantastic set design and decoration (quelle surprise!), great actors, solid performances, a (mostly) solid script, great ideas... and it all falls apart. Despite a beautifully naked Natalie Portman, sporting a 2005 (V For Vendetta)-era haircut.

"The Hotel Chevalier" feels like a parody of the director's other, better work, and it's sad to me that he directed it. It plays just like a film student trying way too hard to make a Wes Anderson film, and simply not getting it.

Sigh.



[* I may be biased on this count. But dammit, I still think it's true!]
[** This sounds arrogant, I know. I'm not saying I'm the best man for the job; I'm just saying I could do it. And a whole helluva lot of other people could do it far better than me. But please, someone, do it.]