O Royal Hotel

This was a decent enough film on its own merits, however I urge anyone who enjoyed it, or even thought they were going to enjoy it but didn't, to watch Hotel Coolgardie. This is the true story documentary that the film is based on. The film is set in a very similar place, but the characters in the film, rough as they might be supposed to be, are far more clean cut than the people in real life. They are also far less sinister than the real life people, albeit it's more subtle in the documentary. Hotel Coolgardie really shows the pitfalls of isolation and toxic masculinity, and paints a really frightening portrait of rural Australia.

Ugh...where do I begin. The film is a dog. A pointless, boring, series of missed chances to land some useful commentary. The fact this film is even circulating right now is testament to just how bad the selection of available films in the US is at the moment.

Julia Garner in her OLD hair (c. 2019) bores us with the prospect of a stunning performance...because that's what the marketing promises. Surprise! No such thing...instead we get a series of events punctuated by alcohol (so "1960") and lonely dysfunctional isolated men...(oh hey! That's new! NOT!) All the tension is queued up for a meaningful something-or-other but voila...no delivery... instead audiences are punished with a closeup of Garner mopping up vomit. Yay!

Skip this one...

Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) are traveling best friends far from home. They are on a party boat in Sydney, Australia. With money trouble, they take up jobs in a remote mining town. They are barmaids working for Billy (Hugo Weaving) who is drunk most of the time. The town is full of drunken men and not many women.

I want Hanna and Liv to be smarter for the sake of the story. I can't believe that they didn't get the Dickens joke. It's the type of joke to accentuate somebody's stupidity and the movie does exactly that. I do like Hanna's reason for not drinking. I did expect the story to go a different way. It takes a sharp turn near the end which I don't mind. I would like something more during that stormy night so the payoff could be more satisfying. It sets up a couple of things that never pays off. The color coding of the beers should be something but it goes nowhere. I thought this story had a darker back story especially with the British chicks. This movie could be something but it stops short.

Felt compelled to leave a review after watching this last night and seeing how many people left poor reviews. All i knew going into it was that it was filmed in Australia and i'm a fan of JG so would watch it regardless of much else.

Enjoyed this from start to finish. For some, movies are about what they make you feel and think. If you enjoy character studies about people, place, time or circumstances then this might be up your alley. It's not a happy movie nor a true horror which is probably how many have been left disappointed. Indie drama/thriller would better describe it.

It's bleak and scary for the fact that human nature is often something to fear more than anything pretend. I had that sick feeling of unease through throughout (which is something i really appreciate from such movies).

I would watch it again however my partner (male) watching with me was waiting for something bigger to happen and felt the end was anti climatic - 2 different views.

This movie is a dramatic interpretation of the documentary film "hotel coolgardie" (I reviewed that also on IMDb)

It tells the story of two backpackers travelling through Australia and they take up a job via a job agency (very common in Australia backpacking community). Only downside the hotel is in south Australia in a mining location.

They are met with a culture shock of how rough the men are and how the women have to cope with chauvinism.

The movie portrays real life in the mining towns of southern Australia where the pub is the main gathering location and where men drink far too much.

There are a few scenes where artistic license is used to make for a more dramatic movie but all in all it's a true reflection of the experiences many female travellers have.

I recommend to watch and then view "Hotel Coolgardie" to compare.