Film Review: 'Bad Times at El Royale' (2018) # If likened to humans, 'Bad Times at El Royale' is our friend who likes to chat loudly.
If likened to humans, Bad Times at El Royale is our friend who likes to chat loudly. Everything he talked about always sounded so exciting that it didn't matter if he talked for hours. But when he leaves and we try to remember the conversation, we will usually wonder: "What did you just talk about?". Not because the contents are nonsense, but because the conversation is so much and indeed there is no contingency; confusing alias without direction. What is clear, exciting.
That's the Bad Times at El Royale. This film feels like a lot of movies in one film. Broadly speaking, he impressed as a mystery thriller. Sometimes, it becomes a drama film that explores sin and redemption. At one point, we were presented with a singing scene that made goose bumps so good. At other times, it has brutal action and criminal scenes. As if, various exciting elements from various different films gathered together to hang out and have a good bad time at El Royale.
This film was written and worked on by Drew Goddard, a veteran script writer who debuted his director through The Cabin in the Woods in 2012. Watching the film, you might expect to get another high-concept film. But actually the concept of Bad Times at El Royale is not that powerful. The premise in the paragraph above is only a place for Goddard to show off his ability to work on a stylish film; the production system is charming, the cinematography is solid, the soundtrack is biting, and the acting of the players is good. This film is not as funny as The Cabin in the Woods, but it is still interesting.
So what is El Royale? El Royale is a unique hotel right on the border of Nevada and California. His trademark is the structure of the building which is divided in two: half is decorated in Nevada style, while half is California. Visitors may choose to stay in which part of the room. Both are separated by a lobby divided by a straight line between the two provinces. In the past El Royale was a hotel that was crowded, always crowded with visitors, and even often booked by celebrities. But now he is on the verge of death.
So of course El Royale's manager, Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman), who by the way is the only hotel crew, was surprised when suddenly the hotel was crowded with people at the same time. There was a senile Flynn (Jeff Bridges) pastor, background singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo) who was trying to make her solo debut, as well as a sales vacuum cleaner Sullivan (Jon Hamm) who was partially and slippery mouthed. Will follow Dakota Johnson who wrote "F *** You" when asked to fill the hotel guest book. Understandably, he did not want his identity to be known, there was a girl (Cailee Spaeny) in the trunk of his car who was taken hostage.
I can't tell you what will happen next, but it's safe if I say that what happened is the title: bad thing. So I will only reveal what the trailer has shown. El Royale is not a safe hotel. I mean, this hotel has a secret aisle and a translucent mirror so people can observe activities in each room. Sullivan will also find dozens of tapes in the corners of the room. The conflict will also involve money wrapping and roulette games. As Miles said, El Royale is not a place for priests.
Here Goddard plays with the structure of the film. The story is divided into several chapters that focus on each character. Either to tell how our character can end up in El Royale, or to show us about an event that we have witnessed before but this time from a different perspective. I can imagine how a technique like this would work more smoothly as a miniseries instead of a film.
Smart viewers might already be able to guess that not everyone fits the casing. Everything is clearly hiding something. Anything is a thing that you must find yourself, because in this film character identity is the core of the film. This film has relatively no story; Plot mechanism is a product of the identity of each character that collides with each other. The ingenuity of Goddard is how he divulges new details of his character and how they are closely related to each other. Although it lasted almost two and a half hours, Goddard never ran out of ammunition and we were never overwhelmed with any new disclosures. Therefore, it is not so awkward as the end of the film we meet Chris Hemsworth who plays a fake religious leader who never wants clothes.
I won't blame Hemsworth. If I have a stomach like a laundry board like him, I will never want clothes for life.
Sorry I digress. We might call this film the reason Goddard has let the actors ... uhm, show off their acting. And everything is really cool. We can feel Jeff Bridges frustration when at one time he had to remember something he had forgotten — well, his name was a senile person. Dakota Johnson appears deadly * cough * as a tough young woman. But the most fascinating is Erivo which will make you shiver with the sound of his gold. Each of them is financed with cynical humor and sharp dialogue.
I also thought that the El Royale hotel was its own character. But I was wrong. Through a review of Variety, I knew that El Royale was inspired by a real hotel named Cal Neva owned by Frank Sinatra in the 60s. Goddard gives us the opportunity to explore the corner of the hotel until we seem to be right there, recognizing each side. However, the hotel itself has no significance for the plot. Indeed the location is very interesting, the mystery behind the screen is also very curious. But the story in Bad Times at El Royale can happen anywhere; all that is needed is people who meet wrong at the wrong time.
And that also makes me a little disappointed with this film. Goddard spends enough time to build character, we can't help but get carried away with that hype. Then why does he have to do that? The resolution of the film feels rather meh. I know that even with the intricate film The Cabin in the Woods, we really don't have to always expect a twist-plot in the next Goddard movie. But here it feels more suitable. Seeing all the elements in Bad Times at El Royale, it feels like he deserves a decent cover with anticipation that he built.