Set in a remote Australian town surrounded by nothing but Outback as far as the eye can see, this slow-burning social thriller focuses on a pair of US backpackers who have to take a job at an isolated dive bar when they run out of money to fund their vacation. Their rowdy new workplace attracts a consistent clientele comprised almost solely of horny grubs with no respect for women and an unmistakable air of danger emanating from their every pore. As soon as our protagonists step foot in the place, something just feels off. This is something that one of them acknowledges almost instantly, the sensibly suspicious Hanna (Julia Garner), before she is made to feel overly cautious by her much more free-spirited companion, Liv (Jessica Henwick), and decides to stick out her new employment instead of immediately running for the hills. As their situation shifts from uncomfortable to life-threatening, this disparity in self-preservation skills starts to wear on the pair's relationship. Constantly bombarded with every form of sexism imaginable, the pair react to their new environment in entirely different ways. Liv's cavalier attitude to her own safety becomes increasingly worrisome and frustrating, both for us and for a consistently bravely defiant Hanna. The closer 'The Royal Hotel (2023)' gets to its finale, the more overt its danger becomes. It evolves from creeping domestic dread to all-out edge-of-your-seat horror, even if the tone never quite shifts to become the "nerve-shredding thriller" some of the marketing seems to promise. The narrative plays out like a drama with some incredibly suspenseful and uncomfortable scenes, which helps it to remain grounded for its majority. At the same time, it does become fairly overt in its misogyny and this runs the risk of diluting its authenticity. This level of sexism certainly does exist, though, and it's worth exploring just as much as the subtler, arguably more insidious forms that tend to be more common in everyday life. Furthermore, the piece manages to explore both sides of that equation rather well, even if it never quite evolves into the full-blown genre piece its ending seems to imply it was destined to be. It's the sort of thing that grows in power after it's over, staying with you thanks to its keenly disconcerting subject matter and ability to put you in its protagonists' shoes. It's grounded and believable, mainly thanks to its solid direction, assured screenplay and all around great performances (including a surprise appearance from Hugo Weaving). It's an effectively unsettling drama-come-thriller that keeps you engaged for its entire duration and comes to a satisfyingly chaotic conclusion.
Review of The Royal Hotel
