BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE (2018)

Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption – before everything goes to hell.

Great movie! It’s a slow one but it’s full of surprises. Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Cynthia Erivo (Widows), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Freed), and Jon Hamm (Baby Driver) all put in good acting turns. But it’s the story that is the best part of this movie. It twists and turns as the reasons for each one’s presence at the hotel are revealed — and they all have some dark secrets hiding in their closets. As this happens, our views of the characters keep changing and we become more and more confused about whether each of them is good or bad — or both. EL ROYALE is well structured with some quirky humour along with some very dark themes. Watching this one requires patience (it may be a tad too long). It’s an intelligent crime story and I’m ready to head back to the cinema to see it again!