Is “Bad Times at the El Royale” worth a date night? Yes!
“Bad Times” is a terrific twist on the “Pulp Fiction” formula of clever characters in fun criminal situations. But what makes it truly great for Catholics is a stirring and unexpected, in-depth display of the power of Confession and forgiveness to soothe even the most desperate of souls. It’s got some foul language and brief bursts of bloody action. But for those who can handle that, it’s one of the year’s absolute best films and a great boost for the church’s message amid its present real-world crises.
These are tough times for rank and file Catholics. The faithful laity are forced to endure one distressing headline after another about the clerical sex scandals and attendant cover-ups.
But sometimes, positive reinforcement can come from the strangest places. The new movie “Bad Times at the El Royale” is hitting theaters amid the firestorm. It’s a potent and touching reminder of the good that the vast majority of good priests do in the world. More importantly, it reminds us of the power of the sacrament of Confession to bring peace, solace, forgiveness and redemption to us all.
Seven strangers, one life-changing night
The ads and trailers for “Bad Times” makes it appear that it might be a vastly different kind of movie. Quentin Tarantino-style exploration of evil seem to wallow in shocking violence for laughs rather than any sense of redemption. Six mysterious people converge on the El Royale. It’s a hotel that sits directly on the state line dividing California and Nevada. The hotel is long past the glory days when Dean Martin would stay there amid visits to Lake Tahoe.
Among the visitors are an elderly priest named Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and an African-American singer named Darlene (Cynthia Erivo). They’re joined by two mysterious sisters named Emily (Dakota Johnson) and Ruth (Cailee Spaeny). Also present is a vacuum salesman named Laramie who’s actually an FBI agent (Jon Hamm). Then you have a charismatic creep named Billy Lee who has a strange connection to the sisters (Chris Hemsworth).
They are all greeted by the front desk clerk Miles (Lewis Pullman), who also serves as the hospitality staff and the bartender. After all, he’s the only employee on-site.
Miles is hiding the fact that the El Royale is riddled with bugs, and not the living kind of critters that often populate low-grade motels. Rather, the rooms are filled with hidden listening devices and the mirrors are actually of the two-way variety. This secret network of hallways enables Miles and his unknown bosses to spy upon and film their guests for unclear nefarious purposes.
On this night, tensions ratchet up more than normal. Laramie is ordered to ensure that no one can leave the premises. He proceeds to disable everyone’s car engines.
Soon, everyone’s secrets start to come out. The most important secret is that Father Daniel is actually a bank robber looking to dig up his hotel room floor. He’s retrieving the bagful of money his brother buried there a decade ago before promptly getting shot to death.
The miracle of Confession
When Billy Lee finally arrives, things get emotionally (and then physically) explosive. But what shines through the most in this remarkable film is that it doesn’t wallowing in darkness. Instead, it points strongly towards the light with one of the most powerful redemption stories in recent memory.
When one of the seven main characters receives a mortal wound and is fading fast, they ask for Father Daniel to hear their confession in the hopes of dying with peace and the opportunity for salvation. The problem is that they don’t realize that the man claiming to be Father Daniel is not who he says. But at that moment, Daniel has to decide whether to tell the truth and devastate the dying person, or do as another character requests and help him die in peace by playing the role and helping him at least feel absolved.
The resulting scene is beautifully played, expertly written, and is an astounding reminder of the power of forgiveness and grace afforded by our sacrament of Confession.
I sat amid a thousand hipsters at an advance screening who had no idea that the “Pulp Fiction” style film they walked into would turn out to be an impassioned display of the great good that Catholic priests do every day. It was a wonder to behold all of them riveted to the screen and experiencing a film that was in fact a superb evangelical tool.
Writer-director Drew Goddard is a devout Catholic who fills his work with pro-Catholic themes
Thank writer-director Drew Goddard for that. A devout and outspoken Catholic, Goddard has made a huge splash in Hollywood over the past 15 years. His work appears on a wide variety of shows and movies including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” “Alias,” “Lost,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and the first two “Cloverfield” movies.
Yet, while those were critically acclaimed hits, he has also put his Catholic faith front and center in the Netflix series “Daredevil.” The title character is a superhero who’s a practicing Catholic. In the NBC sitcom “The Good Place,” whose IMDB description says is about “A woman struggles to define what it means to be good.” Here, he places unmistakable focus on Catholicism as a force for good, and at a post-screening Q&A, Jeff Bridges said that “my boss being Catholic made this a great experience.”
The performances in this film are all first-rate. Bridges flourishes as a man who has done bad things but rises to the occasion when given the chance to do good. Erivo is also outstanding as Darlene. She shines particularly in a masterful six-minute sequence in which she sings the pop classic “This Old Heart of Mine” a capella. Her voice covers up the noise of Daniel tearing up the floor in search of the money bag. All the while, as a sinister character watches through the mirror.
Goddard’s writing is crisp throughout, with a great sense of tension and a lot of darkly funny lines to go with its moments of dramatic power. He gives this 141-minute movie time to breathe and wrap audiences in its mysterious embrace with long but riveting scenes that are often quiet before exploding into whiplash bursts of noisy action.
A single unexpected punch inflicted by one character upon another roused the audience into shocked applause unlike nearly any film I’ve ever seen.
“Bad Times” is rated R for about 30 F words and a few other assorted profanities. One character is a pedophile (this is implied rather than shown). A few explosive moments of violence are nonetheless shot with a fair amount of restraint rather than being exploitative.
For adult Catholics, this is a film that will move and entertain, and should be supported.
The breakdown
Plot: 10
Characters and acting: 10
Emotionally involving: 10
Overall: 10
