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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
With its exaggerated sets and deadpan performances, this is unmistakably a Wes Anderson movie. I haven't yet seen his earlier, more familiar works (I've only seen Fantastic Mr Fox and Moonrise Kingdom, both of which I thought were okay at best), but if this movie is anything to go by, I'd say I'm in safe hands! :) It's basically a mystery story about a hotel concierge being falsely accused of murder and setting out to clear his name. And, as a straightforward mystery, it works really well; I was genuinely invested. Wes Anderson's trademark humorous direction may have enhanced that considerably: the actors are so straight-faced and so serious that it makes the cartoonish world around them seem all the more hilarious – particularly the overly speedy ski chase. :) The only thing I wasn't overly fond of was how it's told in flashback, and then in a flashback within a flashback. But the rest was a real treat: both a dryly humorous comedy and an effective mystery story all in one.
My rating: 80%
