Review: Bad Times At the El Royale
Jan. 30th, 2019 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitter_n_goreHere's how predictable I've become at my library: when my hold for this DVD came in, my coworker handed it to me with the words, "Your Chris Hemsworth is here." Yeah, it's pretty obvious why I put this on my list. I have been waiting to make a joke about a "Royale with Extra Cheese" for MONTHS, saving it for when I finally got the chance to watch this movie, because I was so sure it would be a trashy, fun, violent, action thriller in the vein of Versus or Turbo Kid. Turns out, I can't, because Bad Times At the El Royale has a lot more to offer than pulpy goodness.
So, seven strangers arrive at a rundown Lake Tahoe hotel that straddles the state line between California and Nevada. Only a handful of rooms are furnished and clean, there's exactly one staff member handling the check-in, housekeeping, food service, etc., and everyone who signs the guest registry is almost certainly using a false name. As you'd expect, there are secrets here, including a mysterious bag of cash with questionable origins. Everything else took me completely by surprise.
This movie blew me away. The pace and mood are more neo-noire than splatterpunk, the lean, crisp storytelling more reminiscent of Hitchcock than Tarantino. It would make a good double-feature with Sushi Girl--another dark, suspenseful, character-driven thriller that most of the movie-going public overlooked. With good suspense, there's a balance of how much information the audience is privy to, and how it affects the tension in a given scene. Hitchcock once described this push-pull of dramatic irony as the difference between a bomb going off at the beginning of a scene, and the audience knowing that a bomb will go off in five minutes. Director Drew Goddard gives you just enough information to keep you on the edge of your seat, itching to know what happens next.
Now, I recommend going in cold if you can, because so much of what makes this work depends on how little you know at the start. But there are a few talking points I want to get into that require mild spoilers. I need to address the Chris in the room.
One more time, mild spoilers for the next couple paragraphs. Also, a content warning for manipulation, mental and physical abuse, gaslighting, and related relationship badness.
First, you should know that if you're watching this for Hemsworth, he doesn't show up for almost an hour. And he is terrifying. I don't know whether to blame this on misleading marketing or my own bias, but his character, Billy Lee, is miles from the silly, free-love hippie type I'd been expecting. Or maybe, just maybe, that misdirection is intentional. Billy Lee is introduced against this hazy, dreamlike backdrop of the sun setting over the California ocean. And because it's a hot Australian we all know best as the God of Thunder, it is easy to get swept away by him. Again and again, you see him surrounded by nature--sand, fields of flowers, rain, fire--almost like he's this elemental force of charm and charisma, but something is off. He talks a little too much, he's a little too familiar too quickly, he oversteps "friendly" and becomes just a touch too demanding of others' attention. By the time you understand how dangerous he really is, it's way too late.
It's a phenomenal casting job and acting performance--every time I see Hemsworth in something new, I see more of his range, and it's fabulous. I've seen this type of character way too often portrayed as a legit love interest, so it's reassuring to see Billy Lee firmly in the villain slot. And just as unnerving. I've said plenty in the past about various types of movie villains, but they don't always scare me. Billy Lee scared me. I haven't been this disturbed by one of my faves since Heath Ledger played The Joker.
Mild Spoilers and Content Warning Over
This is an ensemble feature overall, but there are a few standouts acting-wise. In case you scrolled past the spoiler-y paragraphs, I think this is one of Chris Hemsworth's best performances to date. It's subtle and layered in a way I wasn't expecting. But the heart of this story, and the character best poised as a protagonist, is Cynthia Erivo as Darlene Sweet. I haven't seen her in anything else yet, and she's mainly known as an award-winning singer and songwriter. Her character here is a struggling musician, and the film offers multiple opportunities to showcase her voice. Watching Darlene cope with the increasingly volatile atmosphere at the hotel without losing her resolve, and watching how the other characters are affected by just hearing her sing, is so powerful and moving. One scene in particular had me in tears. There's a lot of verbiage in this movie about faith and redemption. People can tell themselves and other lies and make it sound like profound wisdom. Others can tie themselves into philosophical knots trying to determine what is the right course of action in a hopelessly complicated situation. But whatever you believe, it's hard to deny the power of music. Again, I was not expecting it.
Obviously, I won't tell you how this ends, because that wouldn't be fair. I will say I loved the ending. Not every loose thread is tied up, not every puzzle is solved, but it is satisfying and triumphant and made me want to immediately go back to the beginning and watch it again. If you've had Bad Times At the El Royale on your list like I did but aren't sure about it--give it a shot. Maybe it'll surprise you like it did me.
(Cross-posted torhoda_rants.)
So, seven strangers arrive at a rundown Lake Tahoe hotel that straddles the state line between California and Nevada. Only a handful of rooms are furnished and clean, there's exactly one staff member handling the check-in, housekeeping, food service, etc., and everyone who signs the guest registry is almost certainly using a false name. As you'd expect, there are secrets here, including a mysterious bag of cash with questionable origins. Everything else took me completely by surprise.
This movie blew me away. The pace and mood are more neo-noire than splatterpunk, the lean, crisp storytelling more reminiscent of Hitchcock than Tarantino. It would make a good double-feature with Sushi Girl--another dark, suspenseful, character-driven thriller that most of the movie-going public overlooked. With good suspense, there's a balance of how much information the audience is privy to, and how it affects the tension in a given scene. Hitchcock once described this push-pull of dramatic irony as the difference between a bomb going off at the beginning of a scene, and the audience knowing that a bomb will go off in five minutes. Director Drew Goddard gives you just enough information to keep you on the edge of your seat, itching to know what happens next.
Now, I recommend going in cold if you can, because so much of what makes this work depends on how little you know at the start. But there are a few talking points I want to get into that require mild spoilers. I need to address the Chris in the room.
One more time, mild spoilers for the next couple paragraphs. Also, a content warning for manipulation, mental and physical abuse, gaslighting, and related relationship badness.
First, you should know that if you're watching this for Hemsworth, he doesn't show up for almost an hour. And he is terrifying. I don't know whether to blame this on misleading marketing or my own bias, but his character, Billy Lee, is miles from the silly, free-love hippie type I'd been expecting. Or maybe, just maybe, that misdirection is intentional. Billy Lee is introduced against this hazy, dreamlike backdrop of the sun setting over the California ocean. And because it's a hot Australian we all know best as the God of Thunder, it is easy to get swept away by him. Again and again, you see him surrounded by nature--sand, fields of flowers, rain, fire--almost like he's this elemental force of charm and charisma, but something is off. He talks a little too much, he's a little too familiar too quickly, he oversteps "friendly" and becomes just a touch too demanding of others' attention. By the time you understand how dangerous he really is, it's way too late.
It's a phenomenal casting job and acting performance--every time I see Hemsworth in something new, I see more of his range, and it's fabulous. I've seen this type of character way too often portrayed as a legit love interest, so it's reassuring to see Billy Lee firmly in the villain slot. And just as unnerving. I've said plenty in the past about various types of movie villains, but they don't always scare me. Billy Lee scared me. I haven't been this disturbed by one of my faves since Heath Ledger played The Joker.
Mild Spoilers and Content Warning Over
This is an ensemble feature overall, but there are a few standouts acting-wise. In case you scrolled past the spoiler-y paragraphs, I think this is one of Chris Hemsworth's best performances to date. It's subtle and layered in a way I wasn't expecting. But the heart of this story, and the character best poised as a protagonist, is Cynthia Erivo as Darlene Sweet. I haven't seen her in anything else yet, and she's mainly known as an award-winning singer and songwriter. Her character here is a struggling musician, and the film offers multiple opportunities to showcase her voice. Watching Darlene cope with the increasingly volatile atmosphere at the hotel without losing her resolve, and watching how the other characters are affected by just hearing her sing, is so powerful and moving. One scene in particular had me in tears. There's a lot of verbiage in this movie about faith and redemption. People can tell themselves and other lies and make it sound like profound wisdom. Others can tie themselves into philosophical knots trying to determine what is the right course of action in a hopelessly complicated situation. But whatever you believe, it's hard to deny the power of music. Again, I was not expecting it.
Obviously, I won't tell you how this ends, because that wouldn't be fair. I will say I loved the ending. Not every loose thread is tied up, not every puzzle is solved, but it is satisfying and triumphant and made me want to immediately go back to the beginning and watch it again. If you've had Bad Times At the El Royale on your list like I did but aren't sure about it--give it a shot. Maybe it'll surprise you like it did me.
(Cross-posted to
rhoda_rants.)