This film is a hoot! There is surprise after surprise as you get sucked into this curiously clever, crime misadventure. One by one, characters show up at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale hotel that’s a trip in itself. Half of it is in Nevada, and the other half in California. Each half is furnished with seedy old decor of the state it’s in. It’s supposedly based on the Cal Neva resort which was once owned by Frank Sinatra.
Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods, The Martian, Lost) claims to have finally written and directed the movie he’s always wanted to see. We didn’t know we wanted to see it, but now we want to see it again! He was even secretive about sending his script to prospective studios.
The cast of this fun-loving mystery must have been scratching their heads when they read this script. The nature of every guest along with the hotel manager are revealed very slowly. Then there’s the true nature. Are they who or what you think they are?
There’s a murder at the get go, but that’s not the only story line you’ll find yourself following, and willingly. Who are all these weird people showing up in the middle of the night? Each seems to have a secret. They’re all different and don’t seem to be connected in any way.
Twists and turns abound in this drawing room farce that is part Hitchcock mystery, part Tarantino violence, with robbery, murder, kidnapping, and a series of disconnected souls including a Cult leader, a vacuum cleaner salesman, a Motown singer, a nervous hotel manager, and a pastor who drinks a lot.
Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm) plays the shady vacuum cleaner salesman with another agenda. Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo – The color Purple, Widows) is the soul singer looking for refuge from something (don’t know what or from whom), Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson) bursts on the scene on the lam hiding someone she’s kidnapped, and Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is the pastor who doesn’t act like one. He’s kind of like a fake Pastor Lubowski who’s got the gift of gab and likes the bar a lot.
Then there’s the hotel manager, Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman). He’s a nervous kind of guy who seems to know what’s going on in the hotel, but is not willing to share it. What’s he up to? Hamm’s character does a little exploring and finds secret passages with a purpose. The long hallway is theatrical, more like a stage than a set, with a way for the person in the passageway to see what’s going on in each room, with or without sound. It’s a useful tool for the filmmaker. Hamm finds an old film that has someone important doing something with someone they shouldn’t. Hmmm.
In the meantime, there are some good tales, and clues to who these people really are, plus some fine music from the late 60’s on the old juke box. You get to hear Darlene Sweet sing some old sweet songs. Her voice is so soothing and her innocence and sadness make her the most appealing of the lot. Goddard had her sing live to make it more effective and she’s a standout, both acting and singing.
Goddard packs in everything. Humor, pathos, love, distrust, disrespect and violence come bubbling up as we follow each stranger. All to a soundtrack that’s just as important because it reflects a time when there was a big period of transition for the country politically. There had been assassination after assassination. That changed the country’s outlook from optimism to something darker and more insecure shown in this character-driven adventure. And the music becomes another character in the film. The film is rich in detail and color. It’s very theatrical, but certain scenes are exceptional, especially those shot in the rain.
Chris Hemsworth pops on the scene late in the film as a cult leader. He lost 35 pounds after wrapping The Avengers to play this role. Of course, his shirt comes off to show his 12 pack. Goddard says he’d tell him to put it back on but he’d just “whip it off” on each take. Hemsworth as Billy Lee, is a charming bad ass and takes the film out to left field….with humor. There’s a lot of humor in the film from several of the characters. And many twists. Wait till you see Hotel Manager Miles in action.
Yes, this film gets violent, and when least expected. Those are the bad times. But there are also a lot of fun times, also unexpected. This is one uniquely fun romp with surprise after surprise.
20th Century Fox 140 minutes R
