Hotel Artemis is screenwriter's Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation)'s directorial debut. The film depicts a near future Los Angeles torn apart by violent riots. Jodie Foster (the one and only)'s character is a nurse in charge of a hotel for criminals, the Hotel Artemis. As the riots get progressively worse outside, she is forced to deal with a variety of new patients, and huddling them together in the hotel might not be the best idea.

Sofia Boutella's Nice and Charlie Day's Acapulco are a prime example of why this is a bad idea.

The film is far from perfect, but it gave me a feeling I've been craving since the underrated Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Guy Ritchie, 2015). It's fresh. It is not interested in playing by genre conventions (which genre would it be anyway), or by world building or character conventions. It's a film that withholds answers throughout and asks its audience to pay attention.

It might have borrowed its premise from John Wick's Continental hotel, but the execution could not be any more different. Drew Pearce decided that, since he couldn't out-violence John Wick, might as well get rid of it completely. Because oh yes, if you were expecting an action film, you couldn't be more wrong.

Swapping violence for tension, Pearce cooked us a nice little ticking time bomb and it's a pleasure to watch. The feeling that every bit of banter can turn into a bloodbath is gripping stuff. While tension is usually a buildup mechanism for action scenes, Pearce creates tension for the sake of tension. Every new scene brings another element of concern. And soon, you feel like Foster's Nurse, like there are too many fires to put out. Sometimes the fires are heavy plot points, like the Wolf King showing up in the hotel where the two people who stole his diamonds are being treated. But sometimes it's something much more personal, like the Nurse's agoraphobia or Nice's... history. Soon enough, the hotel turns into a pressure cooker, and you'll find yourself going through rapid fire theories about who's going to kill who first.

And do not worry, there is violence, and it's good. I call it violence and not "action" because that's what it feels like on screen. It's the kind of violence Shane Black would be proud of. Uncensored, raw, character revealing. And this film proves why you should hire Sofia Boutella for the inevitable female John Wick spinoff.

I just want to see her in more films, is that a crime?

This is a character driven thriller, and oh boy the characters. If I were to describe them to you, they would all seem like archetypes. The Assassin, the Bank Robber, the Gang Lord... But this is where the actors took over their roles and reinvented them. Sterling K. Brown usually doesn't get the love he deserves, which is also a reason this film made me so happy. His portrayal of Waikiki is effortless. Layered, emotional, and with a type of charisma that fills up a room, Waikiki is a criminal worth rooting for. He's one of the two characters who get to meet literally everyone in the film, and each of those interactions are priceless.

Even paper thin characters like Nice, Acapulco and the Wolf King are transformed into amazing characters by the excellent craft of Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day and the Goldblumiest of Goldblums, respectively. They inhabit those characters and make it seem like there truly was no other choice to play them. My personal surprise is Dave Bautista. The ex-wresteler is slowly making his way into more challenging, meaty roles, and this one is no exception. He has now officially become an actor to look out for.

Jodie Foster remains the highlight of the film. After her long career, she proves once again that hell, she still got it. On paper, her role is not too complicated. She lives by three things. Her duty to the hotel, her agoraphobia that keeps her there, and the deep grief for her son. But throughout the film, those three things keep coming in conflict with each other. When she has to beat one, it's at the expense of another. And Foster sells the whole range. The fear, the sadness, the relief, the wrath. She fills up the screen with her smile and is just so compelling she makes the film worth a watch on her own.

A risky thing the film handled very well is the world building. Pearce realized he would not be able to explain everything in two hours, so he restricts his world building to the absolute minimum. It can be a problem for some people, but restricting the story and the world to the futuristic LA made it easier to follow, streamlined. The tech shown in the film is believable, in the sense that it looks and feels like the natural evolution of technology we already have. There are no annoying information dumps because we already understand what everything does (3-D printing a gun is already something people do). It's a futuristic world, but more akin to Blade Runner or Brazil. The beautiful cinematography depicts a grim hotel with a neon finish, complemented by a wonderful funky/jazzy/blues soundtrack to cement this fresh new directorial voice, halfway through a Winding Refn (Drive) and a Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys).

I've rarely seen romantic tension being portrayed as romance + tension, but it works so well!

I started this by saying that the film is not perfect, and it definitely isn't. In some cases, the "fill the gaps yourselves" idea is taken too far, as we simply lack the information to make any kind of guess. A couple of twists don't quite land, although the actors usually manage to turn those moments into fun interactions anyway. Some other characters feel a bit underserved when compared with the ones mentioned above. Jenny Slate and Zachary Quinto do their best, but ultimately they felt a little empty, a shame for those two great actors.

It's a good thing Bautista acts now, otherwise I don't see who could have played Everest.

In the end, Hotel Artemis will be one of those films that fall in my"soft spot" category. Exactly what I enjoy. A film that's subtle, with genuinely fun characters and great performances. A compelling world, almost a dark prophecy when you look at where we're headed. A great indie film and directorial debut that deserves more love. I'm excited to see where Drew Pearce goes next.

Soft Spot/10, would watch again.

Film and TV reviews

Hotel Artemis: The little gem of 2018