Hotel Chevalier: A story about familiarity, reliance and the mind-numbing dynamics of love

There may not be a more futile subject to write about than love.

Love is an idea that confounds all of us. It is permanently confusing. An amorphous mass that we’re so drawn to, yet we can never seem to figure out.

It is the great equalizer. The most intelligent, wealthy and powerful men have knelt at the feet of love. The majority of the world’s major events have manifested through the power (and lust) of love.

Love is also human. It is perhaps the most human aspect of all.

So any artist who attempts to define this idea is faced with an enormous task. Many artists have tried, and many of them have failed. So any artist who finds success in helping define love should be someone we should all pay attention to. For these are the artists who remind us of our own experiences with love and unearth feelings that we have worked so hard to lock away. It is good for us to be reminded of these things, as they are lessons wrapped in pain and anguish.

Wes Anderson is one such artist. Time and time again, his films have reminded us of love’s greatest lessons. They mimic our feelings with love, a bittersweet experience that happened much too quickly. This is why I find myself constantly re-watching his works.

Wes Anderson’s best example of this is found in his short film Hotel Chevalier. It is a prequel to The Darjeeling Limited, a story about three brothers who rediscover what it means to be brothers. Hotel Chevalier is a short about one of the brothers, Jack Whitman (played by Jason Schwartzman) and his unnamed lover who is played by Natalie Portman. In The Darjeeling Limited, Jack’s brothers; Peter and Francis (played by Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson), constantly allude to Jack’s past, in particular, they allude to a bad break-up that he is yet to get over.

In Hotel Chevalier, we find out why.

“What the fuck is going on?”

Hotel Chevalier is a story told in Wes Anderson’s signature storytelling style: impeccable composition, camera sliders, rich and vibrant colors, effortlessly stylish subjects and of course, an aura of bittersweet melancholy that seeps from every scene.

In just over 12 minutes, Anderson can tell a story of two people who are very much in love with each other (yet for reasons similar to many of our own experiences) are apart from each other.

“I promise. I will never be your friend. No matter what. Ever.”

Within this story, we see that Jack has been staying at the Hotel Chevalier for a prolonged period. We see this in the shots of him cleaning up his belongings which have been strewn about the room and his familiarity with the front desk staff when ordering his “Fromage grillé”. We also learn the reason why Jack has been in Paris; a harsh breakup with Natalie Portman’s character.

I’m sure we can all find empathy in this, as we all have either taken a short sabbatical or break from life itself due to a particularly painful breakup. This is a good time to be alone, as it will allow you to fully feel the wave of emotions that come with such an emotional life event.

“I love you. I never hurt you on purpose.”

“I don’t care.”

What happens after his call to the front desk is probably what we all wish would happen fresh from a breakup. He, of course, receives a call from Portman asking what his room number is. He then proceeds to clean up his messy room and then puts on a Don Draper-Esque gray suit.

“Wanna see my view of Paris?”

After the first few scenes, we start to dive into the real meat of the story. Which of course is the interactions between Jack and Natalie.

The first crucial shot is Jack’s “kiss denial into a hug” maneuver when he first opens the door for Portman. A clear message showing a past intimacy and a current rift between the two characters. They go through the trivialities; who cut Jack’s hair, why is the bath prepared, his choice of music. But that only lasts for a brief moment, as the real stuff is started when Portman asks: “What the fuck is going on?”.

What then proceeds is six-minutes of the most heartwrenching, beautiful and melancholic pieces of art that I’ve ever had the privilege to witness.

What happens after that point is beyond words, and I’d rather you watch it than explain it to you. It’s worthy of that.

Portman’s character in this movie is brash, direct and instigating. She comes from out of the ether back into Jack’s life. Jack, on the other hand, is less direct and sort of at the mercy of Natalie. He just wants to run away, to be away for a while. A lot of relationships seem to find this dynamic: an alpha and a beta, a giver and a taker. Most of us have been at least one of these characters at one point, if not both (for those of us that have been in many relationships). Ultimately, we can find common ground with both characters, as none of us come out of relationships unscathed or without guilt. We’ve all been both a giver and a taker. I can’t count how many times I’ve intentionally hurt a partner just to be mean for meanness’s sake, and how many times I’ve ran away to cower in a dark room for a couple of days.

It’s this dichotomy between the give and the take that paints the entire picture of our relationships.

Will we give in, or will we stand our ground?

Do we say sorry?

Do we wait for them?

Ultimately, Hotel Chevalier is a story about two separated lovers and their reliance on each other. It’s about their longing for what once was and their deep sadness of what it now is. In a way, it’s also a story of their reliance to each other.

I like to think about love as the ultimate form of sharing. When you reach that level of intimacy with someone, you end up sharing every single aspect of your life with them. But this is a two-edged sword.

Moments with them feel like the best moments in the world. You fight to spend as much time with them as possible, soaking up every moment, breath in their soul into yours.

You lose yourself within them.

Then, all of a sudden, this all stops. For whatever reason, you spend no more time with this person. The person is gone, nowhere to be seen, but your feelings are still there. So what do you do?

You escape. Just like what Jack did. To Paris, if possible. But, while you’re away, all you want is to just spend time with that person. If only they gave you a call, a message of any sort. Just one last time.

This is what Hotel Chevalier is all about.

These lessons once learned long ago in our sorrow-filled past, are reminded to us again by Wes Anderson.

So drink them in.

Watch it over fifty times.

Soak in the melancholic beauty of your past love.

Because it’s worth it.