Drew Goddard, 2018.
May contain spoilers!
As you may already be able to tell, I am a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, and one of my favourite movie openers is the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds. The multi-lingual dialogue from Christopher Waltz, the evilness of the Nazi occupation in France being pushed right in the front of the screen, and the raw emotion on Monsieur LaPadite. That scene is over 10 minutes long, and is widely regarded as the greatest opening scene of all time. With no words spoken, an old 50's pop song played on a record player in a motel room, and a continuous frame, the much shorter opener of Bad Times at the El Royale made me jump forward, pay attention and marvel at what is now my favourite opening scene of all time. The shot of Nick Offerman stood in the rain, perfectly in the doorframe, with a chiaroscuro effect, was probably my favourite shot of the film,
Right from the start the biggest compliment I can give this film is that in almost every shot, there was something very Tarantino-esque; whether it was the retro soundtrack, the title cards or the close up shots of something right before it's used. Director Drew Goddard has made a really beautiful looking film.
The film is based 10 years after that first scene, in 1969. It follows seven strangers who each have their own secrets, who all come together one night in a shady motel on the California-Nevada border. Each character has their own story to tell, and throughout the movie, tiny little seeds are planted, which oftentimes proved frustrating, however you had to keep reminding yourself that you will work it out, and in time you do of course. I really loved the character development for some of these characters, whether that be through the current time period of the film, or in the use of flashbacks.
The film also boasts a few good twists which keeps the audience glued a little longer, which was actually helpful as I felt some of the scenes and maybe the film as a whole ran a little too long. I couldn't really work out if it actually was a thriller which is what it was billed as, or if it was a dark comedy, or even a whodunit, but I think it has elements of all of those genres, which can be a hindrance but I think it worked here.
The cast is an ensemble of stars including Dakota Johnson, Jeff Bridges, John Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth. The star of the show for me was Cynthia Erivo as a Motown singer. She was amazing in this film, and what a voice she has too. I feel like this could probably be her breakthrough role. Hemsworth played his role incredibly too, way above my expectation for him at least.
The look and feel of this film as previously mentioned really had a Tarantino feel to it, which is the highest compliment I can give director Drew Goddard. He really took a risk with a film like this but delivered well. It just went on a little longer than I would have liked, but as far as homages go, he did really well here, and I liked this film a lot.
The first two acts of the movie were great, but with the use of a few too many flashbacks, momentum just kept shifting, I was really engaged, then I wasn't, then I was pulled back in to the present day, then shoved back in time but with a different characters perspective, it was too much at times, and was probably a little more twisted that it needed to be.
The idea of the hotel being exactly on the state line of California and Nevada seemed like a cool, quirky thing for the movie to be based around but I think it was mentioned once really, and after that it wasn't relevant at all, and in that respect I was disappointed.
It does have many looping storylines that keep you hooked though, and I loved that about El Royale. It leaves something at the end that you have to imagine, and leaves you guessing which again I really like, but the main story wraps up well in a really climactic final act. I also really loved the music in this film. If I ever get the chance to direct a film, this is the sort of soundtrack that really inspires me and makes me want to write films. I spent the next few weeks after watching this film replaying the soundtrack. The soundtrack of any film is so much more important than just being a good song thrown in to a scene willy nilly. The soundtrack of this film, and also Deathproof which I reviewed a few posts back, is the reason I keep going back to it, and it makes me want to watch and recommend it. The music plays in to the storyline on many occasions too, which is very clever film making.
I liked this film a lot, and the main pros are the cast, strong dialogue scenes, and retro soundtrack. It is also a really good looking film, and the cinematography is second to none. The cons are the runtime and pacing, however I feel like this didn't really impact my feeling of it as a whole at all, it is just worth pointing out. This is a film that needs to be given time and patience, and there is not a lot wrong with that, I just have to be in the mood for a film like this. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Drew Goddard does next, because if this film is anything to go by, he is in for a great career as a director. Now go and watch that opening scene and tell me you don't want to watch on.
My Rating 8.5/10
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