Bad Times at the El Royale

Bad Times at the El Royale

Drew Goddard, who wrote the screenplays for “Cloverfield” and “The Martian” and wrote and directed “The Cabin in the Woods,” is a very clever filmmaker. His new picture, the second feature he’s both written and directed, is called “Bad Times at the El Royale,” and it’s an unfortunately apt demonstration of what can befall a clever filmmaker who gets too clever.

The movie opens with a teasing set piece that’s well executed and promising. A shot of a room in a relatively upscale motor hotel. A man in a trenchcoat with a bloodied arm enters, carrying duffel bags. In a series of jump cut shots all from the same camera position we see the man move all the furniture to one end of the room, roll up the carpet, pull up the floorboards, leave the duffle bag under the floor, put the room back together again, and wait.

Another man arrives and kills the poor fellow who buried the bag. Apparently this fellow is unaware of what the now dead guy has been up to. A title card says “Ten Years Later” and it’s a sunny day and we know that whatever’s in that duffel bag is still under the floor at what we now know to be The El Royale.

A novel feature of this place is discussed by first two characters we meet Jeff Bridges’ Father Daniel Flynn and Cynthia Erivo’s Darlene Sweet. The lodging is built on top of border between Nevada California; hotel rooms are specially styled each side with casino on Nevada side although license for this one has expired so it has seen better days as borne out by fact that once Darlene Daniel go inside check in they’re met by obnoxiously garrulous appliance salesman named Laramie who’s been cooling his heels lobby while no staff members manifest themselves.

Played by an enjoyably unctuous Jon Hamm Laramie gives spiel drenched very inauthentic Biloxi accent until Darlene sharp knock employees only door rouses somnolent bellboy Miles (Lewis Pullman) who flies into odd panic when he sees priest trying check-in; question why goes by wayside drowned out loud automobile pulling lodge lot motored surly Dakota Johnson signs log book two-word epithet.

A television clip Richard Nixon explaining nature guerilla warfare why conventional ceasefire might do trick Vietnam fixes movie time period 1970 or so but that’s only thing we can be sure once clients have checked entered their rooms Hamm character makes phone call during which drops accent starts plucking various listening devices from phone he speaking on Darlene hangs blankets her walls puts metronome mantlepiece begins singing Johnson’s character takes unconscious bound-up woman out trunk sits chair her room Father Daniel moves furniture to one side his rolls carpet starts pulling up floorboards.

Bad Times at the El Royale has a lot of plot. Almost enough to fill its 140 minutes running time. But when the threads are pulled together and everything is set, it turns into a bloody drawn out standoff where an awful preening villain struts around while the camera eats him up. Darlene glances at what’s going on and says to said villain who wants her to bet her life on a spin of a roulette wheel: “I’m just tired. I’m just bored of men like you.” At this point I wrote in my notes: “Yeah me too.”

Goddard seems to think that this kind of auto-critique gives the film’s sadism some sort of pass. But he is wrong. And that is what’s called being too clever by half. That and naming your character “Darlene Sweet” and including a flashback that puts her at the mercy of a faux Phil Spector character.

Watch Bad Times at the El Royale For Free On Gomovies.