The Royal Hotel On Hulu Causes Huge Divide Over Psychological Thriller
The Royal Hotel was released on Netflix in late 2023 to rave reviews by critics. Today, Rotten Tomatoes has critics at 89 percent positive but audiences at 39 percent are mostly negative. What’s with the huge gap? I suspect critics were watching the acting and directing, and audiences were waiting for the promised violence and assault that never arrived.
More Cerebral Than Advertised
The Royal Hotel is billed as “a wild ride from start to finish.” It is a “psychological thriller.” And maybe the problems begin there.
From the synopsis of this movie, based on our past experiences with psychological thrillers that involve young women in an isolated area with a group of men, we have come to expect rape and violence. Instead, this movie gets inside the heads of the women, so we feel their fear despite nothing really dangerous ever taking place. I’m not sure most viewers are ready for how complex of a concept this is.
A Thriller From A Woman’s Persepctive
The Royal Hotel was co-written and directed by a woman, Kitty Green, who tells the story of the hyper-stressful situation women find themselves in when they’re surrounded by men and have little recourse against them. Julia Garner stars as Hanna, who heads out to a remote area of Australia with her friend Live, played by Jessica Henwick. The women are on a work visa program that sends them out to various sites to earn money so they can explore different parts of the country.
Hugo Weaving Is Marvelous
The women arrive in the small mining town in the outback — dry, desolate, and dirty — and are greeted by the bumbling drunk pub owner of The Royal Hotel, Billy, played marvelously by Hugo Weaving. The girls will be bartending for the miners each night. Right away, there are sexist, misogynistic jokes and plenty of lurid leering and requests. Hanna and Liv find themselves smack in the middle of the farewell party for the two female English tourists who previously held the roles of bartenders.
The English women are drinking excessively, dancing provocatively on the bar, and later that night, having sex with the miners. You get the sense that this is what will be expected from Hanna and Liv. And yet, aside from some overt come-ons and one intense drunken encounter, nothing ever actually happens.
The Tension Never Dies Down
The Royal Hotel is filled with these “what-if” moments, with thrilling scenes where you’re sure sexual assault is about to take place, but it never does. Either the potential threat is nullified by an interruption, or it was never really a threat in the first place. You find yourself questioning if any of these men are good, and also if any of them are bad.
A Horrifying Reality
And I think that’s the point. I suspect Kitty Green is sharing a reality for women everywhere all the time. We never know which man might pose a threat, which won’t take no for an answer, which won’t be okay with just kissing and instead insists on going further, using violence he has immediate access to. This tension between vulnerable females and virtually any male at any time is what makes The Royal Hotel a psychological thriller. And the fear radiating from Garner and Henwick keeps us on the edges of our seats.
Why Women Choose The Bear
The fact that audiences have found themselves disappointed by the film, I think, is telling. If you’ve been following the controversy surrounding the article asking women if they would rather encounter a bear or a man alone in the woods, you understand what’s happening with this film. So many people, men and women, don’t understand why an overwhelming number of women choose the bear.
Streaming Now On Hulu
REVIEW SCORE
In The Royal Hotel, every single male, at one point or another, feels like a threat. And, indeed, given the right (or wrong) circumstances, he could be. I give the film 4 out of 5 stars for originality. I think it was just marketed poorly. It’s definitely worth a watch, and it’s available on Hulu.
