Bad Times at the El Royale Movie Review

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

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Written by: Drew Goddard
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Nick Offerman, Shea Whigham
Rated: R
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Plot
In 1969 several strangers, most with a secret to bury, meet by chance at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown motel with a dark past. Over the course of one night, everyone will show their true colors before everything goes to hell.

Verdict
This feels like an older movie, likely due to being set in 1969. This movie has the trappings of the period, but it also has a fun vibe. The story unfurls, connecting these characters and revealing their secrets as we learn just a bit at a time. It's a fun movie that explores the duality of the motel and the guests. While the introduction is a bit slow, once that's out of the way the pace ramps up. It's stylish from the music to the visuals, though I wish the themes of duality and the secrets within played a larger role.
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Review
This opens with intrigue. A man is hiding something under a motel floor. Then we cut to the motel in 1969, when this movie occurs.

This movie has style. From the period setting to the editing aligned with the music, and the motel itself. This motel is on the California-Nevada state line which perfectly bisects the lobby and rooms. Each side is similar, but different, mirrored across the state line.

The movie builds the mystery around the four guests of the motel The acting is great.
We're provided very little information and the movie divides itself to focus on each character at a time, though all of the stories overlap. This creates small and quick cliffhangers throughout, though we're never left hanging for too long.
The motel itself is home to a few secrets as we discover scene by scene. The stories are an interesting setup, but I began to wonder where this would go. Not long after I asked myself the question, violence kicks this movie into gear.

You have this motel that is divided across states, while also housing secrets. It seems like a commentary on everyone in the hotel. All of them are hiding something, divided by what side of the law they're on. But that feels like a stretch. I wish this commentary was stronger and ran deeper.
Really what we get is that the people that seem good aren't, and the ones that seems bad aren't all that bad. You can't judge anything just by how it looks. This is further toyed with through the two way mirrors throughout the hotel. These themes don't seem to have a bearing on the characters or the revelations at the end.

This has great music and some really cool visuals, though I don't want to spoil those moments.
While it had a slow start, once it jumps the pacing never lets up. Even the ending comes down to this rumination on right and wrong and betting on luck. There's a duality throughout, but is there more to it than that? It feels like there should be. The idea of luck at the end doesn't really connect to anything previously seen in the movie. The themes are a cool concept, but I wish they were taken further. Still, this movie is a lot of fun.