Wednesday, January 16, 2019

BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE: SOLID STORYTELLING


When a movie can combine different stories into one singular tale it can either result in a mish mashed mess or an intricate story that pulls the viewer in. Fortunately BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE falls into the second category.

Taking place in 1969 a group of travelers find themselves staying at the El Royale hotel located literally on the state lines of California and Nevada, half in one state and half in the other. The group consists of four individuals. Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is on his way to see his brother in Oakland. Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo) is a backup singer from a Motown group going out on her own and singing in Reno the next day. Laramie Sullivan (John Hamm) is an obnoxious and talkative vacuum salesman. And Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson) is a less than friendly hippy on the road. The only person we find working at the hotel is Miles (Lewis Pullman).

But all is not as it seems. Each of these characters has their own secrets they want to hide. What follows is a breakdown by room number of each of the characters. We begin with Sullivan who turns out to be an FBI agent sent in to debug a room set up previously. He discovers not just the bugs the FBI placed but more placed by someone else. In addition to that he discovers a secret pathway behind each room allowing each occupant to be observed and filmed. His walk through the pathway provides insight into each of the other characters.

The Father is tearing up the floors on the room he is in, no doubt in reference to the prologue of the film where a man buried a bag in his room before being killed. Darlene is rehearsing and this is where we discover she is a singer. And when he gets to Emily’s room he finds her carrying in an unconscious kidnap victim and tying her to a chair. He immediately calls the home office and is told to carry out his mission, to collect all evidence, prevent anyone from leaving until then and not to involve himself in the kidnapping.

Which is where we learn more of Emily’s story. The victim turns out to be her sister. Both had been abused when young, run away and fallen under the spell of a charismatic Manson like cult leader named Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth). The “kidnapping” was Emily trying to save her sister from Billy. And the cult has just begun their killing spree when she took her sister.

The movie swerves back and forth between the present and brief past as each story unwinds. We move forward in one only to trip back a little and see what the other characters were doing while that story was told. Eventually they all combine to give us the complete picture but not before things take an altogether different twist. Billy and his group arrives and we learn their story. That tale brings everything to the climax of the film and it truly becomes a bad night at the El Royale.

Most of this amounts to just half of the film. It sets the stage for what is to come, the culmination of the various stories that each of these characters brings to the hotel. It is a fascinating combination of tales presented in the most entertaining way. The dialogue here is snappy, crisp, clean, well-written and pulls you in to the story. No words are wasted and each one propels us forward.

The acting is some of the best you’ll see in some time. Every actor, not one or two, delivers here in the most amazing way possible. Each one brings life to their character and fills them out. These are not cardboard cutouts but complete individuals whose paths cross in the most unlikely way at the worst moment possible.

The movie looks great too with a nice polish on sets and cinematography by Seamus McGarvey whose made movies like GODZILLA and THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. He shines here. And while only having 5 films to his credit as director, including CABIN IN THE WOODS, director Drew Goddard pulls it all together to make for a movie I hadn’t expected to enjoy as much as I did.

A bit violent for the younger crowd my guess is that everyone else will enjoy this movie. It may be a bad night at the El Royale but it will be a good night for movie fans.

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