Oh, Saoirse, you just keep getting better.
Film: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Young Actress: Saoirse Ronan, age 19.
Even if you miss his name in the credits, it's easy to tell when you're watching a Wes Anderson movie. The writer/director has a lot of unique elements in his films. There's his precise eye for colors, patterns, and symmetry. There are the several recurring actors (like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, both of whom show up in Grand Budapest). Then there's the way his characters almost always remain composed and articulate, even in extreme situations.
The plot of Grand Budapest involves a hotel concierge, Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes, the Harry Potter movies), who's framed for murder after a wealthy hotel guest dies, and his loyal lobby-boy, Zero (Tony Revolori), who helps him clear his name. There's a jailbreak, a missing will, a secret society, international travel, and several heists of a valuable painting, all set against the approach of World War II. Although it drags a bit in a few places and gets hard to follow in a few others, for the most part, it's a fun, funny adventure story.
Agatha in the bakery. The film won several awards for its elaborate, detailed set design.
There are a lot of characters in Grand Budapest, and many of the smaller roles are played by celebrities talented enough to make them memorable. That's where Saoirse comes in as Zero's love interest, Agatha, a shy young pastry chef working at a bakery near the hotel. Although Agatha is important to the story -- she helps Gustave break out of prison by mailing him pastries with escape tools inside, and she saves the day by finding the dead woman's will that clears his name -- she doesn't have much screentime, and like most characters in a Wes Anderson movie, she doesn't run a gamut of emotions, either. But Saoirse, as she always does, still infuses her role with something deeper.
I've always found it hard to pinpoint what it is about Saoirse that makes her so watchable; this is the case with Peggy Ann Garner too, who was so exquisite that it almost hurt. (Saoirse has always reminded me of her.) But whatever it is, it's there in Grand Budapest. Agatha and Zero are so wholly and purely in love, and when they get married at the end, it's one of the most touching scenes in the movie. At one point, Gustave muses about Agatha, "I find that girl utterly delightful. Flat as a board, enormous birthmark the shape of Mexico over half her face, sweating for hours on end in that sweltering kitchen... yet without question, without fail, always and invariably, she's exceedingly lovely." (Zero responds, "Don't flirt with her.") As far as being delightful and lovely, he may as well be talking about Saoirse.
Other reviews of Saoirse's films: The Lovely Bones (2009), Lost River (2014), Brooklyn (2015).
AWARDS
Critics Choice: Won Best Comedy; nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Young Actor/Actress (Tony Revolori).
Golden Globes: Won Best Picture: Musical or Comedy; nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Oscars: Nominated for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Editing, and Best Writing: Original Screenplay.
Screen Actors Guild: Nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
Even if you miss his name in the credits, it's easy to tell when you're watching a Wes Anderson movie. The writer/director has a lot of unique elements in his films. There's his precise eye for colors, patterns, and symmetry. There are the several recurring actors (like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, both of whom show up in Grand Budapest). Then there's the way his characters almost always remain composed and articulate, even in extreme situations.
The plot of Grand Budapest involves a hotel concierge, Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes, the Harry Potter movies), who's framed for murder after a wealthy hotel guest dies, and his loyal lobby-boy, Zero (Tony Revolori), who helps him clear his name. There's a jailbreak, a missing will, a secret society, international travel, and several heists of a valuable painting, all set against the approach of World War II. Although it drags a bit in a few places and gets hard to follow in a few others, for the most part, it's a fun, funny adventure story.
Agatha in the bakery. The film won several awards for its elaborate, detailed set design.
There are a lot of characters in Grand Budapest, and many of the smaller roles are played by celebrities talented enough to make them memorable. That's where Saoirse comes in as Zero's love interest, Agatha, a shy young pastry chef working at a bakery near the hotel. Although Agatha is important to the story -- she helps Gustave break out of prison by mailing him pastries with escape tools inside, and she saves the day by finding the dead woman's will that clears his name -- she doesn't have much screentime, and like most characters in a Wes Anderson movie, she doesn't run a gamut of emotions, either. But Saoirse, as she always does, still infuses her role with something deeper.
I've always found it hard to pinpoint what it is about Saoirse that makes her so watchable; this is the case with Peggy Ann Garner too, who was so exquisite that it almost hurt. (Saoirse has always reminded me of her.) But whatever it is, it's there in Grand Budapest. Agatha and Zero are so wholly and purely in love, and when they get married at the end, it's one of the most touching scenes in the movie. At one point, Gustave muses about Agatha, "I find that girl utterly delightful. Flat as a board, enormous birthmark the shape of Mexico over half her face, sweating for hours on end in that sweltering kitchen... yet without question, without fail, always and invariably, she's exceedingly lovely." (Zero responds, "Don't flirt with her.") As far as being delightful and lovely, he may as well be talking about Saoirse.
Other reviews of Saoirse's films: The Lovely Bones (2009), Lost River (2014), Brooklyn (2015).
AWARDS
Critics Choice: Won Best Comedy; nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Young Actor/Actress (Tony Revolori).
Golden Globes: Won Best Picture: Musical or Comedy; nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Oscars: Nominated for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Editing, and Best Writing: Original Screenplay.
Screen Actors Guild: Nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Motion Picture.