Spoilers would leave a harsh review on yelp.
When a film has a group of strangers from different walks of life stuck together, there’s a chance that I’m going to be interested. They only know of each others what they’re being told but you know there’s always ulterior motives. This is where you can get creative and come up with the wildest of reveals. Still, it’s a genre film and despite how much you want to subvert the outcome, it always comes down to who dies and who makes it out alive.
Bad Time at the El Royale (2018) is written and directed by Drew Goddard. It’s 1969. El Royale is a strange motel that lies in the middle of the border of Nevada and California. In a dark and stormy night, four strangers check in: traveling salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm), Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo) and a mystery woman that does not identify herself (Dakota Johnson). The place is run by one single squirrely concierge, Miles (Lewis Pullman). They all have hidden motives to be there and of course, not everyone is who they say they are. It’s a genre film in the typical mystery crime. The film slowly reveals the backstory of every room occupant.
This is one of those films where the thrill lies in the discovery of how far from their initial personalities the true characters are, and how much trouble they will bring to the rest of the cast. We’ll also get to meet the very troubled Rose (Cailee Spaeny) and the charismatic but psychotic Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth). Most of the fun is in discovering how deep each backstory goes as well as a possible ongoing conspiracy, but not all threads are followed to completion. That actually is for the best as not all the stories are worth our time, but it does feel unfairly unbalanced.
It works overall if you don’t look too close. I did love the cinematography and the crisp colors jump out of the screen. I do feel some performances get to shine more than others. It’s very difficult to buy Chris Hemsworth on screen being anything other than his MCU character. On the other hand, Lewis Pullman’s portrayal of suffering and fear outshined almost everyone else. That being said, for the most part the film has a smooth execution up to the third act when it loses steam. Everything is out in the open, all the stakes are on the table and the ending feels clumsy and forced.
Recommended with reservations. It’s entertaining to catch all the foreshadowing elements that will come into play later. The backstories are a plus, and I do love when some scenes are retold from a different character’s POV. However, the fun starts to wane as we go into the third act. The last confrontation seems like it was put together at the last minute. Worth a watch at least once, but there’s not much reveals to catch a second time.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 