The Royal Hotel
Thoroughly enjoyed. <PERSON> has the juice and can direct actors better than almost any of her peers.
I would describe this as a successful attempt to take a lot of the ideas behind The Assistant and reapply them to a different setting and genre. It’s a film for a big crowd and it works extremely well.
<PERSON>’s strength is in her character work. She never takes an easy out for the sake of drama, and even the villains of this film are full of contradiction and drawn with a lot of empathy. 657
Surprisingly a significant amount of the conflict exists between the two leads, and their different approaches for dealing with drunken chauvinism. At times this dynamic felt mildly underwritten to me, however I feel like I owe the film another watch while considering this relationship more.
The real revelation here compared to The Assistant is how <PERSON> blocks and shoots her scenes. Most of the film is set in a fairly packed bar, with around a half dozen distinct patrons. Fantastic use of the space is made and the camera always feels like it is finding the most interesting spot. <PERSON> knows when not to show certain parts of the bar and a lot of tension is mined from a fear of what might be happening just outside the frame.
Most importantly performance is king and the actors are never lost in the fray while trying to show off with a set piece.
<PERSON> is sensational once again. 217