The Motel Life

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.

snow. animation. common acting. dark story. a mixture between Of mice and men , blue song and usual scenes from a gloomy America. it is not great or good or impressive. only decent. each actor does a good work and the presence of Krist Kristoffen remains the profound note of movie. a film like an old Dodge Dart. too common for many, not brilliant for the others. but interesting and almost touching. an adaptation. a testimony. realistic and full of ash taste. a film who can remember few basic things of ordinary life or be boring. but not bad. sure, it is not a revelation, Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff makes theirs character in well known manner but that is one of film virtues.

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!

Dorff is very good, but everyone is really solid.

Not much happening, but Dorff's tales are good. It's sad but captivating.

The Motel Life (2012)

Brimming with conventional thriller possibilities, including a serious tinge about brothers remaining loyal to the end, "The Motel Life" ends up a near miss in scene after scene. We learn quickly that there is a pact made between the two because of a mother who dies and leaves them little to live on. And we see how one brother has killed someone in his car by mistake (it seems) and so ends up dragging both brothers into the flight from justice.

This all sounds solid, yes. But there are just those endless little things that set it wrong. The acting varies from excellent (Frank, one of the two brothers) to strained (Jerry, who overacts) to awkward (a couple of their friends playing stereotypical parts). The plot has elements of intensity, for sure—too many, you might say—but it also rings too many familiar bells. There is death, gambling, amputation, prostitution, drinking, gay-bashing, attempted suicide, theft (of a dog!), and an extended hospital scene that ends with great and necessary drama.

To say the flaws here are the result of the low budget is to miss what might have been a golden opportunity: making a truly original story out of these young men caught between honor and ordinary crime. That is, there is a raw edge here that could have been exploited with less aggressive writing that tips every angle into sensational excess. Only the steady, thoughtful leading actor, Frank, played by Emile Hirsch, holds it all together and makes it, in the end, at least worth watching. To his credit, a small but key part by Kris Kristofferson is also compelling and gives the movie some weight.

Co-directors Polsky and Polsky are new to movie-making, and it shows. But it's also apparent that something deeper is at work that might grow and be rewarding, especially with a better screenplay. Let's hope this is just a first tentative step forward.