Film Review: Hotel Artemis (2018)
If one needed to illustrate how time inevitably affects everyone, even the biggest Hollywood stars, Jodie Foster might provide one of the best examples. There’s no need to delve too far into the past and recall her role in Taxi Driver, when, as a pre-teen nymphette, she incited violence both on screen and in real life. It’s enough, for instance, to remember how, just a decade ago in The Brave One, she portrayed a relatively young woman cleaning up New York’s streets in the style of Charles Bronson. The shock is all the greater, then, when viewers see her in Hotel Artemis—albeit with the aid of appropriate makeup—for the first time in a role whose age falls into what is euphemistically referred to as the ‘golden years’.
The film’s plot, meanwhile, is set in the relatively near future—a period that, at least for California, would be hard to describe as a ‘golden age’. By 2028, local authorities have implemented some of the most extreme neoliberal ideas, including the complete privatisation of water supply with monopolistic pricing determined exclusively by supply and demand. In Los Angeles, this means the majority of the population will be either poor, thirsty, or both, leading to mass riots that a privatised police force attempts to suppress with extreme brutality. Sherman (Sterling K. Brown), however, couldn’t care less, having long ago decided to earn his bread through crime, including bank heists. During one such robbery, he and his brother (Brian Tyree Henry) are wounded, prompting them to seek out a peculiar institution known as the Hotel Artemis—a facility that, in reality, operates as a hospital where nurse Jean Thomas (Jodie Foster) provides discreet yet top-tier medical services to pre-registered criminals, outcasts, and others on the wrong side of the law, utilising nanotechnology and other cutting-edge medical advancements. The Hotel Artemis also operates under strict behavioural rules that all guests must follow, including a ban on killing one another. Yet, on the night Los Angeles erupts in chaos, maintaining this rule proves difficult—especially given the presence of professional assassins among the guests and the fact that Sherman has robbed the head of Los Angeles’ underworld.
Hotel Artemis was produced by a relatively new and small studio with an exceptionally low budget, and for Drew Pearce—previously known as a screenwriter and producer—this marks his directorial debut. This raises the question of how the film managed to secure standard cinema distribution, with the best answer lying in its cast. This applies not only to Jodie Foster, who devours what could have been a thankless role as an ageing, occasionally eccentric nurse, but also to the imposing Sterling K. Brown, who delivers the closest thing to a hero among all the characters. The rest of the cast is, in some cases, strong—witness Jeff Goldblum, who appears only briefly towards the film’s end, or Sofie Boutella, who brilliantly utilises her dance skills in a fight sequence, and the ever-compelling Dave Bautista as Jean’s assistant—while in others, it falls short, particularly irritating Charlie Day as Zachary Quinto, who once again displays a tendency to lapse into unbearable hamming it up when portraying villains.
The biggest issue with Hotel Artemis, however, is Pearce’s rather uninspired script, which draws significant inspiration from John Wick—particularly its memorable similar hotel concept. Beyond poorly written characters and an overdose of melodrama towards the end, the most glaring flaw is the underutilisation of dystopian motifs; the apocalyptic riots outside are nothing more than a superfluous backdrop, failing to pose any real threat to the characters safely ensconced behind the hotel’s thick, fortified walls. The idea of neoliberal policies triggering a water shortage and societal collapse could have served as a compelling socio-economic commentary, but this opportunity is wasted. On the other hand, Hotel Artemis functions remarkably well as a stylistic exercise—a testament to Pearce’s directorial and production skills—where Jodie Foster’s talent and charisma blend seamlessly with the set design and atmosphere, evoking futuristic neo-noir classics like Blade Runner. When cinemas are starved of small yet solid films, Hotel Artemis’ strengths are more than enough.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
(Note: The text in the original Croatian version was posted here.)
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