The Motel Life

Recently, I saw the The Motel Life with Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff and Dakota Fanning and thought it was really interesting, captivating and told a true, dark story of two brothers. Directed by the Polsky Brothers, they took on the adaptation of The Motel Life. I haven't read the book, but I wonder what the book fans thought of the movie.

Emile and Stephen's performances are intense and both characters are challenged as they run from the cops, search for money and try to survive. I really enjoyed Emile's performance. He portrayed Frank very well and could see the struggle to keep his brother well. As well, the sketch animation that is incorporated in the film just added to the story. That was one of my favorite aspects of the films. Sometimes films that try to add in animation with real life does not turn out well, but in this case, it worked!

Gloomy nomads and gloomy Nevada in the 1990's amount to a gloomy viewing experience in The Motel Life. The title clues us well enough: Living any time in a motel could be disastrous for mental health. The movie itself has that kind of despair.

Frank Lee (Emile Hirsch) helps wit-challenged brother, Jerry (Stephen Dorff), after the latter kills a boy on a bike and leaves the scene. Together they light out for motels with some imaginative cartoons representing stories Frank tells Jerry Lee throughout their lives. Some critics find the animations distracting; I find them imaginative and boredom reducing.

The confusing mash up of past and present (the boys are not much different from what they were) is relieved by Annie (Dakota Fanning), who is serene even in her conflicts. Fanning has grown into an intelligent actress and shows it here. In fact, Frank is fortunate to have such a dear girl improbably waiting for him. Another relief from motel boredom is cops looking for the driver of the lethal car. Add an enjoyable cameo by Kris Kristofferson as Earl Hurley, a car dealer, and the film is momentarily relieved from oblivion. Otherwise, the boys are on the lam and reminiscing while going deeper in debt and guilt.

One high point is their winning several thousand dollars betting on Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson. You can guess how wisely they use it. But the money allows them to go to another motel, by now a motif of squalor and loneliness, no surprise to those with limited income and without Marriott points. Changing motels and buying carry out food reinforce the rootless melancholy of these not-too-bright boys. It's tough to care about such nitwits.

On a more positive note, cinematographer Roman Vas'yanov captures the bleak winter landscape using film, not digits. It's possible to see how much more imposing the winter can be with old-fashioned celluloid. Just consider what Hitchcock achieves with that old Bates Motel. Now that's not dull.

Plot abstract - brothers grow up with bad luck always looking for them; almost every imaginable thing that can go wrong does. But, they still have each other's back and their storytelling. From an acting, filming and creative storytelling pov it's a four or five but a couple of things moved it down the charts for me. First, no subtitles and for a film which is storytelling dependent that is a no-no. Not only difficult for any hard of hearing, etc. but the enunciations and unique dialogue were difficult to follow anyway. Second, the pacing and over redundancy of the main theme made watching really slooow. Perhaps intended to embellish the cold desolate mood which the director also provided with other filming techniques but it turned out to be too much. Like having the same meal repeatedly, it loses it's taste eventually.

I became a fan of Stephen Dorff after his role in Sophia Coppola's Somewhere and Emile Hirsch in the great Alpha Dog. Even the smaller roles with Kris Kristofferson and Dakota Fanning are remarkable in this movie. But all the good acting still keeps the flick just a notch above average. Its not so much about life in a motel or all that, but the lives and decisions of two brothers and all the drama that goes with it. Dorff plays an immature amputee who is dependent on Hirsch and does a great job. Man, just watching Dorff complain and cry is almost nerve-racking. The dark, cold, snowy, gloomy scenes make you feel the weather, but I wish there was more to the story line than just good acting and the scenery.

This is a tough film. It's gritty and it feels nostalgic as you watch the scenery in the film because it feels like we have all traveled to places like this before. It's a film about the sadness which harnesses it's energy upon us and sometimes we can never quite shake it. Or perhaps we can shake it.

Raw performances by Stephen Dorff and Emile Hirsch, their best performances to date, in my opinion. If the film could have lobbied its actors maybe even an academy award nomination would have been in the midst for Dorff or Hirsch.

A fine made film about who we are, what we lose and what we try to get back. Sad in all it's humility.