Hotel Chevalier - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Apart from being one of the year's most discussed short films, Hotel Chevalier attracted considerable critical praise, with reviewers comparing it favorably to The Darjeeling Limited. Entertainment Weekly's Gary Susman described it as "an exquisite short story where we learn not much but exactly enough about these two characters", adding that "Chevalier sees Anderson working in his customary jewel-box/dollhouse mode, but the form and length really suit each other here." In New York Press, Armand White judged the short "moving and genuinely contemporary", citing its "lost-girl poignancy". The film drew some attention for co-star Natalie Portman's extended nude scene, and for her character's bruised body. Portman expressed disappointment at this focus, saying "It really depressed me that half of every review ... was about the nudity". The episode made the actress reconsider the wisdom of this aspect of her performance, and she subsequently swore off nude appearances in film.

Portman's performance was praised by TIME reviewer Richard Corliss, who declared her to be "a comic actress in fresh bloom" in the "beguiling vignette", and expressed his wish that her role in Darjeeling had been greater. The feature, he felt, lacked "the feeling and wit of the short film". Salon.com's Stephanie Zacharek concurred, stating that "the untold story of Hotel Chevalier is 10 times more interesting, and infinitely richer, than the one told outright in The Darjeeling Limited", and calling the short "very close to perfect". The Guardian columnist Danny Leigh contrasted the lukewarm reception of the feature among bloggers and critics with the "genuine ardour" that greeted the "perfectly measured narrative" of Chevalier. He proposed that the constraints of the short-film format suited Anderson, whose trademark deadpan humor, idiosyncratic set designs and choice of soundtrack inclined to exhaust the viewers' patience in a feature-length work. A. O. Scott of The New York Times hailed Chevalier as "a small gem" in comparison to the "overstuffed suitcase" of the feature, and wrote that "It is worth seeking out, not only because it fleshes out part of the story of the Whitman brothers but also because, on its own, it is an almost perfect distillation of Mr. Anderson's vexing and intriguing talents, enigmatic, affecting and wry."