Will they ever be Royals? (CREDIT: Neon/Screenshot)
Starring: Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Hugo Weaving, Toby Wallace, Ursula Yovich, Daniel Henshall, James Frecheville
Director: Kitty Green
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Rating: R for Maximum Drunken Boorishness
Release Date: October 6, 2023 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: If there’s one major lesson to be learned from The Royal Hotel, it’s that planning ahead is essential. Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) would certainly agree after everything they go through. They’re vacationing in Australia, but then the cash runs out and they need to find a job. Alas, the only gig they can land on such short notice is bartending at the titular watering hole, which is located in the remotest part of the Outback. The owner (an unrecognizable Hugo Weaving) is an alcoholic nightmare, while the patrons have a bit too much of a knack for misogyny and violence. The girls do have at least one ally in the form of Carol (Ursula Yovich), the bar’s gruff second-in-command. But it soon becomes clear that they really only have themselves to rely on if they want to make it out of this place alive.
What Made an Impression?: A Descent Into Hell: The realism of The Royal Hotel can lull you into a false sense of security. The joint isn’t exactly inviting, or even really pleasant at all. But if you’re working there, it feels like any old awful job that you just have to survive, and at least Hanna and Liv can count on a preordained end point. But they’re like those proverbial frogs in burning water. Because soon enough, the folks who seemed friendly have revealed their Hyde-like alter egos, while the run-of-the-mill jerks have turned into psychopaths, and everyone genuinely on their side has disappeared. The normal rules of society don’t apply in a place this isolated. Nothing particularly supernatural happens, but it’s like a waking nightmare that feels like it couldn’t possibly be real when you reckon with it after the fact.
Killer Ending: Downbeat thrillers like this one can be a tough sell if you’re someone who likes to have fun when you go to the movies. I was certainly prepared to leave The Royal Hotel with a pit in my stomach, especially since Kitty Green and Julia Garner’s last collaboration didn’t exactly offer much in the way of relief. But this time around, they opt for a much more cathartic conclusion. It’s outrageous in its own way, and fittingly so considering the taste of hell that the leads have to swallow. The last line is one for the ages, and if you check into The Royal Hotel, chances are you’ll be pumping your fist or raising a toast in solidarity on the way out.
The Royal Hotel is Recommended If You Like: Thelma and Louise, That one GIF from Waiting to Exhale, Discovering resilience that you never knew you had
Grade: 4 out of 5 Broken Glasses
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