"Bad Times at the El Royale" Review - From the Vaults

Tonight we saw "Bad Times at the El Royale", of which Cardiff seems to be the only city it was advertised in if texts to other people are anything to go by. That is a shame since this movie is fucking great. Written and directed by Drew Goddard, free from the wanky Whedon dialogue of "Cabin in the Woods", the film is a well-crafted, cool and beautifully photographed 60s smash-up of character piece, spy-movie, "on the lam" movie and evil-cult movie, with tinges of 'Nam thrown in for good measure. Though it starts to droop and really slow in the final stretch, up until that point it juggles all these balls really well and remains a gripping mystery and thriller. At the eponymous hotel, a priest (Jeff Bridges), a Jon Hamm-esque vacuum cleaner salesman in a blue and pink pinstripe suit (of course played by Jon Hamm), a skittish soul singer (Cynthia Erivo) and a Southern Belle in a jacket with more fringe than an emo band (Dakota Johnson) pull up and head to their separate rooms, each with their own dark, sordid tale following close behind. Secrets are unearthed, perspectives switched and bitching soundtracks used as we slither across this oily, storm-drenched hotel of perversion and sin... And all the while there is the encroaching presence of a sinister Marvel alumni... I'll start off simple: The performances across the board are fucking outstanding. Going into this as a Jon Hamm fan (and needing to support him in movies, because he is one of America's greatest living exports) I thought he'd be my favourite character. I was naturally proven right, as "Laramie Seymour Sullivan" is a funny, chatty, loquacious, delicious totem pole of charisma; but each and every one of these colourful enigmas is gripping to watch in their own right. As we swap between each story and perspective, there was never a point where I felt myself going "Oh for fuck's sake, we're following this guy now?". Dakota Johnson's dangerous "Emily Supperspring" says so, so much with simple facial expressions, and is brilliantly underplayed; and the newcomers/unknowns (Cynthia Erivo and Bill Pullman's doppelganger of a son Lewis) manage to more than hold their own against the cast, even surpassing them in many aspects. There is some outstanding acting across the board here. Jeff Bridges, being Jeff Fucking Bridges, is hypnotic most of the time; but here he is given a wonderful character with juicy dialogue to chew on, in a part most would kill for. Yet when he shares his first big scene in the movie with another character, it's Cynthia Erivo, and she kills it. She got the first big "WHAT THE FUCK?!" moment from me, in a movie of many. Their scene alone is worth the ticket price, as is Bridges' performance. All the while Pullman's hotel barman/receptionist/dogsbody is on the sidelines, and in the third act he earns his place alongside these guys. Then Chris Hemsworth shows up. It's a fucking great role for him, going against type and actually having to be sinister as "Billy Lee", the Manson-esque figure from one character's past. However, he only comes into the movie towards the end, which is not enough time to properly swing some punches. Sure, he makes an impact, but at that point we kind of know how it's going to go and despite an excellent intro (to "Twelve Thirty" by the Mamas and the Papas of all things, oddly chilling) and some fun stuff on screen, we're waiting for it all to wrap up and get to the credits. I should probably point out too that Goddard is great as a director too. He has given these guys a great script, full of twists, turns and great shit to do, but then he compliments that with some truly phenomenal style to the substance at hand. There are clever transitions, mirrors, cuts and the like; and his soundtrack is fitting with the 60s style, without ever being on the nose or annoying about it (looking at you, "Suicide Squid")... Go watch this. It slows in the final act, and some characters may take your fancy more than others, but there is excellent things on display here, and I look forward to more from Pullman 2.0 and Cynthia Erivo; plus there is an always welcome cameo from Shea Whigham. Give this movie money