Australian writer-director Kitty Green made a splash when her feature The Assistant was selected and shown at the Sundance and Telluride film festivals in 2020. The film explored the sexual harassment, intimidation and mental manipulation a recent college grad (played by Julia Garner) maneuvers over the course of a day, working as an assistant to a highly influential and powerful entertainment executive.
Many praised the film for its scathing depiction of the micro and macro transgressions that fosters toxic environments, and unsafe spaces for women in the workplace — a theme paralleling many of the stories shared by the victims of Harvey Weinstein's abuse. Green's followup to her lauded debut is the tense thriller The Royal Hotel, which expands upon the themes of condescension, aggression and belittlement that women so often face.
Following two American college-aged young women, Hanna (returning collaborator Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick), The Royal Hotel follows them on a visit to Australia as part of a work and travel program. When they run out of money, they are assigned bartending work in a remote restaurant called The Royal Hotel, situated in a mining area where they will "have to be okay with a little male attention."
When they arrive at the hotel, they are underwhelmed to say the least. Hanna and Liv are barely greeted by the hotel's cook Carol (Ursula Yovich), and have to show themselves around, making their way through the sticky-floored bar, past the pigsty of a bedroom, and stumbling upon the suite where the current bartenders are passed out. Shortly after, they're introduced to the seemingly drunk owner Billy (Hugo Weaving), who scolds them for trying to shower in the middle of a drought.
For all of the discomfort brought on by their surroundings, they quickly realize this is just the tip of the iceberg on their first night of work. In the loud, chaotic bar, Hanna and Liv try to keep up with the patrons, who show their true colours in short order. One patron begs Hanna to respond to his joke about blondes, while another younger man, Matty (Toby Wallace), requests a "Dickens" brand cider, eliciting snickers from his friends, but confusion for Liv.
After their first night, Hanna is already put off, disgusted and wanting to leave, but Liv convinces her to stay, attributing their behaviour to "cultural difference." From there, Green has her main characters spend more time with the locals, and, as they become more familiar, the more heightened the situation becomes. After Matty is able to convince Hanna and Liv to join him on a trip to a nearby swimming hole, the girls start to slowly let their guard down, Hanna specifically, Green slowly begins to show that there are no safe spaces for the two young women.
Garner plays Hanna perfectly, which is no surprise considering she's had a number of roles where a character's vulnerability drives a lot of their decision-making, like The Assistant and her guest spot on The Americans. In one painstakingly uncomfortable instance, Hanna tells a drunk patron, Dolly (Daniel Henshall), that it's last call and he's been cut off, which he responds to with anger. Garner runs the gamut of emotions with, Hanna goes from ignoring his comments to laughing them off to finally bartering with Dolly to calm him down and avoid a violent outburst.
Highlighting Henwick's Liv's initial resistance to Hanna's concerns, Green consistently places Hanna alone in frame — isolated as she walks on eggshells as she fears for her safety. The power dynamics are apparent throughout the film's 90-minute run time, Green slowly uncovers the deeper misogyny, violence and fear that stems from the "jokes," "compliments" and nicknames thrown towards Hanna and Liv because they don't smile enough.
The Royal Hotel stands out thanks to the strength of Garner and Henwick's performances and Green's directing — specifically her ability to slowly and critically expose the insidious nature of the male gaze. And though there are overlapping themes with her previous feature, Green's latest further demonstrates her unique talent as a filmmaker and strength as a contemporary storyteller attuned to societal shortcomings.
(Elevation Pictures)Many praised the film for its scathing depiction of the micro and macro transgressions that fosters toxic environments, and unsafe spaces for women in the workplace — a theme paralleling many of the stories shared by the victims of Harvey Weinstein's abuse. Green's followup to her lauded debut is the tense thriller The Royal Hotel, which expands upon the themes of condescension, aggression and belittlement that women so often face.
Following two American college-aged young women, Hanna (returning collaborator Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick), The Royal Hotel follows them on a visit to Australia as part of a work and travel program. When they run out of money, they are assigned bartending work in a remote restaurant called The Royal Hotel, situated in a mining area where they will "have to be okay with a little male attention."
When they arrive at the hotel, they are underwhelmed to say the least. Hanna and Liv are barely greeted by the hotel's cook Carol (Ursula Yovich), and have to show themselves around, making their way through the sticky-floored bar, past the pigsty of a bedroom, and stumbling upon the suite where the current bartenders are passed out. Shortly after, they're introduced to the seemingly drunk owner Billy (Hugo Weaving), who scolds them for trying to shower in the middle of a drought.
For all of the discomfort brought on by their surroundings, they quickly realize this is just the tip of the iceberg on their first night of work. In the loud, chaotic bar, Hanna and Liv try to keep up with the patrons, who show their true colours in short order. One patron begs Hanna to respond to his joke about blondes, while another younger man, Matty (Toby Wallace), requests a "Dickens" brand cider, eliciting snickers from his friends, but confusion for Liv.
After their first night, Hanna is already put off, disgusted and wanting to leave, but Liv convinces her to stay, attributing their behaviour to "cultural difference." From there, Green has her main characters spend more time with the locals, and, as they become more familiar, the more heightened the situation becomes. After Matty is able to convince Hanna and Liv to join him on a trip to a nearby swimming hole, the girls start to slowly let their guard down, Hanna specifically, Green slowly begins to show that there are no safe spaces for the two young women.
Garner plays Hanna perfectly, which is no surprise considering she's had a number of roles where a character's vulnerability drives a lot of their decision-making, like The Assistant and her guest spot on The Americans. In one painstakingly uncomfortable instance, Hanna tells a drunk patron, Dolly (Daniel Henshall), that it's last call and he's been cut off, which he responds to with anger. Garner runs the gamut of emotions with, Hanna goes from ignoring his comments to laughing them off to finally bartering with Dolly to calm him down and avoid a violent outburst.
Highlighting Henwick's Liv's initial resistance to Hanna's concerns, Green consistently places Hanna alone in frame — isolated as she walks on eggshells as she fears for her safety. The power dynamics are apparent throughout the film's 90-minute run time, Green slowly uncovers the deeper misogyny, violence and fear that stems from the "jokes," "compliments" and nicknames thrown towards Hanna and Liv because they don't smile enough.
The Royal Hotel stands out thanks to the strength of Garner and Henwick's performances and Green's directing — specifically her ability to slowly and critically expose the insidious nature of the male gaze. And though there are overlapping themes with her previous feature, Green's latest further demonstrates her unique talent as a filmmaker and strength as a contemporary storyteller attuned to societal shortcomings.
