Bad Times at the El Royale **** (2018, Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman) – Movie Review

In 1969, several strangers – an old priest (Jeff Bridges) with a liking for scotch and money, but with early onset dementia, a struggling African American female singer (Cynthia Erivo), a talkative salesman (Jon Hamm) and an unfriendly hippie woman (Dakota Johnson) – meet by chance when they check in at Lake Tahoe’s rundown roadside motel El Royale.

Situated on the border between California and Nevada, the El Royale is operated by one single, troubled staff member called Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman). Murder and mayhem ensue in writer-director Drew Goddard’s stylish and enjoyable 2018 epic neo noir retro thriller Bad Times at the El Royale.

Heavy rain hits at nightfall and in comes crazy cult leader Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth) looking for his girl (Cailee Spaeny), the hippie woman’s younger sister.

The 1969 setting seems just there so we can sit back and enjoy the sounds of the Sixties, with Erivo singing her heart out in the golden oldie numbers, and Chris Hemsworth seems just there so we can sit back and enjoy his amazing body. I have to say that both Erivo and Hemsworth are very well employed. So, for that matter is Jeff Bridges, who finds a pretty near ideal part for him, and twinkles away nicely, in a relaxed star turn. Though this is an ensemble movie, Bridges is very much its star.

Lewis Pullman is excellent too, probably thrilled at getting such a chunky role that he can get his teeth into. Miles Miller is definitely a relation of Norman Bates, that’s for sure. Johnson is nice and tough and scary, quite believable really in a tricky role, so those Shades of Grey movies she was in haven’t been wasted. I have to say also, with great regret, that Hemsworth’s part of the movie is the weakest, and unfortunately it is the film’s climax. He does his best for it, but it is not an easy role to play, and the film stalls a little before its explosive finish.

The film is uber-stylish with great visuals (the cinematographer is Seamus McGarvey) and set designs (by production designer Martin Whist), and a super score (Michael Giacchino) and soundtrack. It manages to be quite scary and even thrilling every now and again. (Goddard directed the 2011 The Cabin in the Woods, which also featured Hemsworth.)

It is the kind of movie that probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so it is not surprising that it flopped, but it is the kind of movie that has fervent admirers, and I’m pretty much in that category. It falls somewhere between the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino, but I should not say fall, I should say stands. I’m chancing my arm here, but it is probably as good as The Big Lebowski, nearly anyway.

Cynthia Erivo is nominated as Supporting Actress of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards 2019.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Movie Review

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