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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