David Pierdomenico
In an age where CGI heavy superhero films dominate the box office, it’s always nice to see a film that feels vintage. Bad Times at the El Royale almost tricks the viewer into thinking they’re seeing a film that’s much older than it really is. It has a brilliant cast, sharp dialogue, and a beautiful late 60’s/early 70’s aesthetic. That said, it can’t help but be derivative at times. Which may or may not be the film’s own fault.
Clue Meets The Hateful Eight
The film opens with a masked man hiding a stash of money from a robbery gone wrong. The scene is intentionally vague, so as to help set up a mystery for later. From there it jumps ten years ahead and a group of strangers are checking into the El Royale. We are introduced to a young soul singer named Darlene (Cynthia Erivo), a mild mannered priest named Father Flynn (Jeff Bridges), an eccentric vacuum salesman (Jon Hamm), and a sassy Southern drifter (Dakota Johnson). Each of them seems to have a secret and an agenda for why they are there. And soon their plans and actions will begin to interfere with one another.
A rainstorm sets in and chaos ensues. The film has a perfect setup for its plot, and leaves plenty of room for the characters to interact. The audience is left trying to piece together what each one of them is up to. All the while, the hotel itself remains the large and foreboding entity, almost like the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Between the CA/NV border line running across the center, to the pictures of 1960’s celebrities on the wall, it helps to convey that this is a place with a great deal of history. And not all of that history was good. It hides many dark secrets, which come to light and make the film all the more intriguing.
Trying Too Hard to be Tarantino
Whenever a film is made that is driven by witty and sharp dialogue, there are always comparisons to Quentin Tarantino. He has a unique style that when done right (usually only by him), it yields brilliance. But when it’s done by an imitator, it’s usually very noticeable and doesn’t pan out so well (like in the case of Lucky Number Slevin). And here the comparisons feel justified.
Towards, the end, the film feels like it’s starting to drag because every time we learn something new about a character, the film insists on showing us a fully detailed scene; complete with title cards in pure Tarantino fashion. Because it’s trying so hard to emulate this style, it slows down its own pace and momentum towards the end, which is another issue entirely. The film has a great deal of tension, but the ending feels incredibly contrived and unearned. There’s nothing more that can be said without giving anything away.
Ensemble
Despite some minor issues with pacing and originality in style, the greatest strength by far is the ensemble cast. Given the film’s time period, Jon Hamm feels very much in his element from his days on Mad Men. Though here, he shows a much wider range as he goes back and forth between his true personality, and the fake exterior he puts on when around other people. Jeff Bridges shines as a character that is far from perfect, but can still garner a great deal of sympathy. He brings humanity to a character that most people would probably despise. Dakota Johnson demonstrates that she has more ability than she lets on. Her flat and wooden performances in the Fifty Shades trilogy are merely the result of bad screenwriting and poor directing. In El Royale, she’s brutal, conniving, but when we learn her story, she’s completely justified in all of it.
Chris Hemsworth also plays against his type is a skinny, carefree hippie cult leader, who can be quite sinister. Although his native Australian accent slipped out a few more times than he probably intended. However, the most sympathetic and relatable character is played by a relative unknown, Cynthia Erivo. She gives a brilliant and vulnerable performance. In many ways, she’s the eyes and ears for the audience, since she’s the only character checking into the hotel without an agenda or scheme. She’s already won a Tony Award for “The Color Purple” in 2016, and only has a few TV credits to her name. But she’s currently set to star in a biopic about Harriet Tubman coming out in 2019, which will definitely be something for fans of this film to check out!
Overall, despite its issues with pacing and desperately trying to be Tarantino, Bad Times at the El Royale is still very entertaining. However its 2 hour 21 minute runtime could probably be trimmed down to just under 2 hours without losing anything. It’s a fun mystery thriller that can be a refreshing cure for the current superhero fatigue prevalent in Hollywood.
