Released: 2018
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Nick Offerman, Chris Hemsworth
Director: Drew Goddard
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Rated: R (UK – 15)
“All Roads Lead Here”
WARNING: Since this is a mystery film that relies on releasing information slowly throughout the film, it will be difficult to review it without spoilers. If you want to avoid any spoilers, please go straight to the bottom of the review for the rating. Otherwise, enjoy the review.
Bad Times at the El Royale centers on a hotel that lays on the border between California and Nevada with half the hotel in each state. Once a beacon of night-life, the hotel now is maintained by a single clerk and has little to no guests. Until one afternoon when seven complete strangers all end up at the hotel. While they are all there for different reasons, events unfold that end up endangering all their lives.
Jeff Bridges has a standout performance as Father Daniel Flynn. A man disguised as a priest who is at the hotel with both an ulterior motive and escalating dementia. The moments when Bridges’ character has a lapse in memory are poignant and Bridges depiction really pulls at your heart. You instantly connect to the priest character when watching the film. Is it because of his collar or because of Jeff Bridges’ performance? I like to think the latter.
Other noteworthy performances include Chris Hemsworth as a cult leader, Jon Hamm introduced as a vacuum salesman, and Cynthia Erivo as a singer. Chris Hemsworth really portrayed a Charles Manson-esque character. There is a particular moment when he is no longer in the strong position a cult leader needs to be in that Chris’s expression shows the depth of anger and weakness that his character has. A simple expression that has stayed in memory long after the credits rolled. Cynthia Erivo’s character starts out the film as the least assertive and introverted and ends as the strongest in character and single-mindedness. While I am naming these as the standouts, the film’s entire cast give really solid performances.
The film’s soundtrack is excellent and supports the 1969 timeframe the film takes place in. You have a wide range of music types and artists that were selected including Four Tops, Frankie Valli, and Deep Purple. The music is used to drive emotions, movement, and character to the audience and does a great job at that. The only comment I will say is that the music focus on Cynthia Erivo’s character, Darlene Sweet, may have been overdone. From the moment we discover she is a singer until literally the credits roll, it seems like there are very few times she doesn’t sing. While she has a great voice and does a good job with each song, it got to a point where it became less powerful for her character and almost crossed into annoyance.
Bad Times at the El Royale plot is enjoyable, engrossing, and intricate. A lot of foreshadowing occurs in the beginning and connections can be made easily by the audience. However, there is a lot that the audience must fill in for themselves. None of it really takes away from the movie, but when you leave the theater you may find yourself asking about things that either weren’t resolved or explained. Also, there is a character who borders on becoming a deus ex machina towards the end. I can’t say much about it without spoiling an intense moment, but it was way too convenient for the movie to reach its end.
The style of the film is beautiful. The use of the color, light, and, as I said before, music really provide great accents to what is happening in the scenes. The lighting of the film changes drastically during the film. Going from bright and warm when the scenes are calm and characters are introduced, then dark and high contrast during intense thrilling moments, and finally warm and dim when intimacy is needed. Colors also are bright and vibrant at certain times and become dull and drab when things like the slow decay of the hotel, and the clerk’s office are shown. The colors even fade into the background toward the end of the film when things are intimate and then return bright and vibrant for the final moments. It is nice to see a director using things like this to help a story connect to an audience.
Bad Times at the El Royale definitely is not what I thought it would be from the trailer. Instead of a psychological thriller similar to the film Identity (2003) which had a common setting and start of the story, this is a crime-mystery film. The trailer shows an element of the film that involves voyeurism and some people called “Management”. This is one of the things that is not really resolved at least to my liking. Management is never elaborated past what you see in the trailer. The voyeuristic aspect is simply a plot device to help move the story along and could have probably been removed without hurting the overall story too much. It was a bit disheartening that this wasn’t explored more.
Rating:
Jack Savage:
While I enjoyed Bad Times at the El Royale, I walked out of the theater wanting to know more answers than it provided, leaving quite a few loose ends. Visually beautiful, well acted, and entertaining, but missing something that could make it really great.
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