The writer of Iron Man 3 directs everyone’s new favorite cult classic.
During the press tour for the 2016 thriller Money Monster, the film’s director Jodie Foster was asked whether she had given up acting for good in favor of directing. She replied that while her primary interest in filmmaking was indeed now in directing, she wasn’t completely done with acting. Instead, Foster revealed that she had made a deal with herself once she reached a certain age; she would no longer take any further acting roles unless they gave her something new and exciting to do. After turning down Ron Howard’s offer to play a stroke victim in a still-unmade drama and not having acted on screen since 2013’s Elysium (playing a deeply conflicted villain), Foster seemed to have been keen on keeping her promise. It’s because of this that her signing on to the lead role in writer Drew Pearce’s directorial debut Hotel Artemis instantly raised the profile of the little-known project from spec script to a title worth looking at. If there was any movie which would have made Foster set foot on a soundstage as an actress again, by God it’s Hotel Artemis; by far one of the most hugely entertaining and inventive summer releases of recent years.
Set in the year 2028, Hotel Artemis takes place in a sort of apocalyptic Los Angeles where the beauty and flash of the iconic city has turned into a crime-ridden disaster zone. One such criminal team are the bank robbing brother duo Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown) and Honolulu (Bryan Tyree Henry), who find themselves riddled with bullets after a job goes awry. Seeking help fast, the pair head to the titular building; an antiquated hotel that is actually a secret hospital for criminals headed by The Nurse (Foster). Aided by her trusted orderly Everest (Dave Bautista), The Nurse runs the hospital as a tight ship, finding a balance between patching up bad guys and battling her own demons. Yet tonight will test even The Nurse’s own resilience as she also must contend with arms dealer Acapulco (Charlie Day), assassin Nice (Sofia Boutella), police officer Morgan (Jenny Slate) and Niagara (Jeff Goldblum); the owner of the hotel, who shows up for a special reason just as the rest of L.A. is falling apart outside.
The main attraction of Hotel Artemis which cinephiles will doubtless be praising for years to come is how the film is able to illustrate two distinctly opposite views of Los Angeles simultaneously. Inside the grand building (itself coming from a bygone era) is an ode to old Hollywood which is found in the hospital’s interiors and the occupants which inhabit them. During a recent interview, Foster once remarked how in a way, she saw every character inside Hotel Artemis as someone who was dead, yet didn’t know it. This makes sense as every character seems trapped by their past, letting their own personal troubled histories dictate how they relate to each other. Adding to this is the fact that very rarely is any character referred to by his or her actual name. Instead each person goes by a given alias; a figure/role in which they play. Everest is called Everest because of his mountainous size while the patients are addressed according to whatever room they’re staying in; each bearing the name of a tropical location. While not explicitly film noir, Hotel Artemis bears an unmistakable noir stain through not only its lighting and set design, but in the silent hopelessness and eternal despair of its characters.
While Hotel Artemis has a ball revisiting the slightly tarnished age of Hollywood, Pearce takes the opportunity to explore the idea of a very real future where Los Angeles exists as a sort of third world metropolis with no effective governing whatsoever. It’s both eerie and sad to see how many of the futuristic horrors in Hotel Artemis exist as current realities. Elements such as the grave state of healthcare, police brutality and organized crime masquerading as big business don’t feel as apocalyptic as they do sadly timely. Meanwhile, the once-adored city continues its descent into an irreversible hell with citizens becoming savages and buildings literally exploding all around. Still, the movie offers a tinge of brightness and boldness by showcasing its trio of female characters in positions of masculine power. From Nice’s assassin to Morgan’s female cop to The Nurse (who actually functions as a doctor), it’s the women of the film who are painted as the more indespensible sex, saving lives and taking charge, making Hotel Artemis a surprisingly feminist piece of cinema.
It’s really an unfair move to try and single out any one performer within the movie as the “standout” since each actor really shines, squaring in on the essence of who they’re asked to play. Each scene is elevated greatly thanks to the cast, all of whom are more than game in roles unlike ANY of them have been tasked with bringing to life before. While the idea of the star vehicle may be on life support, the practice of typecasting is not. Fortunately Pearce seems to loves this stable of stars so much, that he’s fashioned parts not necessarily to cater any one person’s image or proven strengths, but rather to truly challenge the cast as actors by letting them venture into territory both new and exciting.
It there’s one problem to be cited with Hotel Artemis, it’s a tendency to feel a bit abridged. One gets the feeling that Pearce’s film originated as an epic-length operatic genre hybrid overflowing with action set pieces and deep character exploration. Maybe it’s because I found myself so taken with the duality of the world in Hotel Artemis and the complicated souls populating it, that I wanted to spend more time there. How rare it is to find a film heavy on style, flair, flash and adrenaline which also comes equipped with purpose and humanity within virtually every character. With shades of The Purge, Assault on Precinct 13, John Wick and even Blade Runner, the film proudly wears its influences on its sleeves. Yet Hotel Artemis is a world all its own; a multi-layered vision with a flavor that cannot be replicated and will not be forgotten.
