Australian Outback thriller has threat, language, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Jessica Henwick</a>, an English actor with a Singaporean-Chinese mother and a Zambian-born father. While the majority of the supporting cast are White males, there are two Aboriginal actors, one of whom is a woman who is given a pivotal role in the film. There is a character played by an actor with down syndrome, although they are not given much to do other than light firecrackers and cause a nuisance. The movie is directed and co-written by <a href=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/"/search/Kitty Green">Kitty Green</a>, a White Australian woman.</p>
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
A sense of threat and harassment runs throughout. Characters behave sexually aggressive toward two young women, making crude jokes and worse. On more than one occasion, characters make unwanted sexual advances toward others who have drunk too much, including breaking in to their residence while they are sleeping. While drunk, a character is locked in the back of a car but is prevented from being driven away when their friend bursts a tyre with an axe. A live snake startles two characters when it suddenly appears in their room. It's later seen dead in a glass jar. Characters are pushed and shoved to the floor resulting in bloody cuts to the face. A character is taken to hospital with a bloody injury to their head after collapsing while drunk. Two instances of cars crashing into other vehicles; one accidentally and one deliberately. A character punches someone repeatedly. A building is deliberately set on fire with raging flames seen as it burns.
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Two young women are told to "get used to the male attention," and sexual jokes are made often at their expense. While drunk, a character climbs onto a bar and lifts both their skirt and top to the fellow pub goers -- no nudity is shown. Two characters walk into two people having sex. The scene is brief but a character's breasts are seen. Kissing, often while drunk, with one character forcibly having to tell someone to stop trying to take it further. A cigarette lighter has an image of a naked woman on it. Characters are seen in their swimwear and also towels while waiting to shower.
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Frequent language includes "s--t," "d--k," "bloody," "dammit," "arse," "s--tkickers," "d--khead," "pr--k," "p---y," "c--t," "crazy f---ing bitches," "f--k," and "f--k's sake." "Jesus" and "oh my God" used as exclamations. "Root" is used in reference to sex. Sexual humor, some of which is degrading toward women.
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The majority of the film is set in a remote pub where the customers and staff get routinely drunk. Beer, shots, wine, and, in one scene, champagne are all drunk. Characters are seen extremely intoxicated. Characters vomit, behave (sexually) aggressively, injure themselves, and make bad decisions. Some drink drive, while others make the decision not to. Characters are often seen smoking too. Empty bottles and people passed out after a heavy night are shown on more than one occasion. Reference to a parent's problematic drinking.
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Some Australian beer brands are briefly mentioned.
Positive Messages
some
Friendship includes looking out for each other and calling out their behavior when needed. Courage and perseverance displayed. An adventurous spirit can lead to excitement but trusting your instincts can also save you from harm in the future. Misogynistic, sexist, and predatory behavior are routinely displayed -- although they are clearly framed as being wrong -- exposing the harassment women, in particular, endure on a daily basis, from the passing comment to aggressive, unwanted sexual advances.
Positive Role Models
some
Hanna and Liv have a good friendship, backpacking through Australia looking for adventure. Liv can be reckless, drinking too much and losing control. But Hanna does her best to look out for her. Both show perseverance and Hanna, in particular, shows courage in standing up to some of the (sexually) aggressive men in the small mining town the girls find themselves working in. The locals -- who are primarily men -- have few redeeming qualities, many being threatening and violent toward Hanna and Liv. Even those who appear to be on the girls' side ultimately show bad character. Only Carol -- who runs the pub with Billy -- shows any concern about the girls' welfare.
Diverse Representations
some
The two leads are young, independent American women (although they tell people they are Canadian) who are backpacking through Australia. One of them is played by Jessica Henwick, an English actor with a Singaporean-Chinese mother and a Zambian-born father. While the majority of the supporting cast are White males, there are two Aboriginal actors, one of whom is a woman who is given a pivotal role in the film. There is a character played by an actor with down syndrome, although they are not given much to do other than light firecrackers and cause a nuisance. The movie is directed and co-written by Kitty Green, a White Australian woman.
Parents need to know that The Royal Hotel is a tense thriller set in the Australian Outback with strong language, heavy drinking, violence, and sexual threat. When American backpackers Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) run out of money, they take jobs in a remote Australian pub frequented by the rowdy locals, some of whom set their desires on the two women. Although humorous in places, an underlining threat runs throughout the film, as Hanna and Liv often find themselves harassed and in situations where (sexual) violence could erupt. With the majority of the pub's customers male, many make unwanted advances toward the women, including breaking into the pub at night and trying to take advantage of a drunk Liv. However, the two women are more than capable of standing up for themselves, particularly Hanna who shows courage in defending herself and Liv. There is a brief sex scene when two characters walk in on the act and there is plenty of sexual "banter," often at the expense of Hanna and Liv. Characters drink to excess, leading to injury, vomiting, and other regretful behavior. A character is repeatedly punched, an axe is used in a threatening manner, and there are two car crashes. The language is strong and frequent and includes "c--t," "p---y," and "f--k." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
‘The Royal Hotel’ (IMDb)
The“The Royal Hotel,” has the same dark tone as Ozark, but it’s just not as good. Actress Julia Garner plays in both, but her character in Ozark is far more interesting.
This is a movie about young women defending themselves against predatory men in an alcohol fueled hotel bar. The stetting is in rural Australia, so the quality of the film transports the viewer to the beautiful desert “down-under.”
It’s a thriller, and could have been a great movie. The hotel itself is interesting. It is the only building for miles in the middle of the Outback, and looks like it once had some smalltime Colonial grandeur.
The entire movie, like the hotel itself feels like brown dirty sand: the landscape, the tattered leather sofa, the hotel bar, and many of the characters have the same aura.
The plot could have been coloured a certain way to fit with this, but there are some quirks to the story. There is alot of drunkenness, that also feels tepid. There are scenes where the symbolism for the obvious misogyny ( storms, snakes, decrepit trailers and axes) has potential, but the storyline doesn’t live up to this. I was expecting Ozark or Breaking Bad, but this film has more of the production values of a B movie.
What's the Story?
In need of some money, American backpackers Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) take jobs at THE ROYAL HOTEL, a remote pub in the Australian Outback. Although warned in advance about the attention they may receive from the rowdy male customers, the two women find themselves in an increasingly threatening environment.
The inspiration for this anxiety-ridden thriller was a 2016 documentary called Hotel Coolgardie. Like the documentary, The Royal Hotel is set in a remote pub in the Australian Outback that is frequented by mostly male customers who are looking for drunken excitement after a day down the mines. This excitement takes the form of joshing Hanna and Liv -- two friends in need of money to continue their backpacking adventure -- but soon becomes something a lot more sinister. It's a tense ride as it becomes clearer to our two central leads that they're out of their depth. However, director and co-writer Kitty Green doesn't make either women feel like victims, nor does the violence and threat feel gratuitous. Hanna, in particular, recognizing that perhaps they shouldn't have taken the job, is cautiously courageous and the pair are a good example of how friends can and should look out for each other. Both Garner (who reunites with Green after 2020's The Assistant) and Henwick are great, their want for adventure perhaps naive but also recognizable as young women exploring the world. The film won't ease the worries of any parents whose children are set to go on a backpacking adventure, but it can start important conversations about harassment, in all its many forms.
MPAA explanation:
language throughout and sexual content/nudity
Last updated:
August 14, 2024
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