THE ROYAL HOTEL Movie Review | Julia Garner | Jessica Henwick | Neon

The Australian Outback provides a growing sense of tension and danger in "The Royal Hotel," a slow-burn thriller from director and co-writer Kitty Green ("The Assistant"). Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick play best friends who take jobs at a remote, rowdy pub to make some extra cash while on vacation. But they must contend with increasingly aggressive overtures from the drunk clientele if they're going to survive. Co-starring Hugo Weaving. In theaters now.
#theroyalhotel #juliagarner #jessicahenwick
* Athletic Brewing Co. has an autumnal, alcohol-free beer that's just right for the season. Dark & Gourdy offers a warm blend of pumpkin and spice. Take 10% off your order with code BREAKFASTALLDAY. Shipping is free on orders of at least $50. Check out all their delicious non-alcoholic options here: athletic-brewi...
Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission.
* If you haven't subscribed to our Breakfast All Day KZbin channel yet, we'd love to have you join our community of engaged, passionate film fans!
* Want to review a movie with us? Here's how: We offer a service at Breakfast All Day called Table for One. You pick a film, we all talk about it together, then we send you the video to enjoy. It's been so much fun and a great way to get to know our viewers better. To find out more about scheduling and pricing, email us at [e-mail].
* Follow us @bfastallday on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
* Follow Christy Lemire: RogerEbert.com, / christylemire
Cameo: www.cameo.com/...
* Follow Alonso Duralde: Linoleum Knife podcast, Maximum Film podcast, / aduralde
* If you're loving how we look and sound these days, it's thanks to Riverside. This is the new platform we're using, which allows us to record in 1080p. You can meet and record for videos, podcasts, social media and more, and it's easy and fun to use. Get 15% off your membership with code BREAKFAST15. To find out more, visit: bit.ly/Riversi...
Some product links are affiliate links which mean if you buy something, we'll receive a small commission.
* If you're enjoying our news, reviews and other features, we'd appreciate it if you'd consider a Super Thanks. It's that icon just below the video with the ❤️ and the 💲. We'll be sure to give you a special shout-out to thank you for your support. We're so grateful to be able to engage with you all -- it inspires us and keeps us going!
* Join our Patreon! Members get exclusive access to our TV recaps, monthly Off the Menu selections our subscribers choose for us and more. Learn more at / bfastallday
* Enjoy longer versions of our conversations on our Breakfast All Day Podcast! Listen here or wherever you find your favorite podcasts: podcasts.apple...

[@Locusto199]

I'll probably end up streaming this, but hadn't even heard of it prior to this vid, so thanks for reviewing it. I love this channel for introducing me to smaller films I may have missed otherwise. I agree about Hugo Weaving too, from those trailer clips I kept thinking "I know that dude, and I dont know why" haha. Probably the beard I guess.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks, that's always one of our main goals!

[@michael-4k4000]

Not worth watching

[@tinkerella]

unfortunately, i went in to this movie expecting an exciting thriller based on the trailer, but it ended up deflating for me by the end. i was always waiting for something more. the acting was good, and has a good sense of location, but it just doesnt deliver on the promises that the first half sets up. it really felt like there was much more movie to be had from this concept.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Glad you gave it a try! Thanks for your thoughts.

[@louisaparker]

Yes, based on previous horror movies, I expected this movie to lead to some all out rape and violence scene. But it didn't.

[@commandZee]

I like that Henwick is getting to stretch her acting chops beyond the action driven genre stuff.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Did you see her in Glass Onion? That was an intriguing, understated role.

[@Locusto199]

My brother and I used to watch GOT together. Then after Glass Onion, he asked me what other stuff Henwick's been in. I said Love and Monsters, which I liked, and Iron Fist, but don't waste your time with Iron Fist, even though she's the best part lol. Worst Marvel/Netflix show by a mile.

[@brianng8350]

@@Locusto199I did wished she was the lead in Iron Fist show. I like the Iron Fist, but the character arc is poorly written.

[@Locusto199]

​@@brianng8350the second season was better, but Iron Fist himself was much better as a guest on Luke Cage, or in The Defenders (where he was still the weak link).

[@brianng8350]

@Locusto199 I agree. I won't have minded a 3rd season. But Colleen was definitely the more interesting character.

[@larsguitars]

Spoiler Ahead: 6:09 Is the conversation that didn’t happen about the fact that Dolly was in their place that night and walked up to their door? I was definitely expecting that to be discussed in the morning or at SOME point.

[@bev9708]

How is there a classic Aussie 70s film I didn't know about? Thanks Alonso!! Maybe because most of my life I avoided most truly scary movies, and stuff going wrong in the outback is indeed a very scary notion to us Aussies!! This movie might just be a bit too close to home for me, the sexism and misogyny in Australia is one of the reasons I wanted to leave, but if it opens here in France, you've made me wanna check it out, PLUS I actually worked in the office at a outback mine for a while but I didn't last very long! Btw, maybe you already guessed, but there must be thousands of Royal Hotels in Australia!!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Didn't realize you were originally from Australia, Bev! If you end up seeing it, we'd love to hear your insights.

[@ksmooth1973]

Its not scary at all

[@fake.it.flowers]

@@ksmooth1973you are probably a man. It’s very much scary for woman

[@DavidN369]

"The Assistant" wrecked me. Can. Not. Wait. For. This. Thanks as ever, Christy and Alonso..

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Great, let us know what you think!

[@tximinoman]

Watched it yesterday and at first the same thing I think bothered Alonso bothered me also. It made no sense to me that Hannah doesn't tell her friend about Dolly being shitfaced upstairs after closing the bar and knocking on their door. But after sleeping on it and watching a couple of scenes again, I really think it's part of the message of the movie, how women put up with incredibly dangerous behaviour and potentially risky stuff because they don't want to be perceived as annoying, or that they are over exaggerating and making a fuss out of nothing. She's gaslighting herself in a way. "Maybe it wasn't that bad" "Maybe he was just super drunk and he really wasn't dangerous at all" "Maybe he's just angry at the world and sad but wouldn't really hurt anybody else" etc. I mean... I still think it's weird, specially after Dolly acts the way he does in front of the married couple that Hannah doesn't just tell her friend everything that dude's done, but I understand what Kitty Green was doing and maybe the problem is that I'm a cis man who's never have to deal with any shit even remotely as dangerous as this.

[@alexawilsonartvideos]

Alcoholic lunatics lol, don't they rule most small places. Mounting dread is a great term, it was powerful in keeping you on edge. It seemed quite realistic (with a fantasy ending that's still satisfying). How much are they in danger, I think many women go through this. Its an empowerment film.

[@KnarfStein]

I saw the trailer several weeks ago and was greatly impressed about the horror atmosphere it conjures. I hope it comes out before Halloween, because it seems perfect for the season!

[@blankname6629]

Just watched it it’s terrible. It’s boring it’s the opposite of thrilling.

[@EgoFan2481]

I went and saw this movie on your recommendation and literally nothing happens in this movie. It’s just two girls arguing with men through out the entire movie…. That’s it.

[@ssilva872]

Pretty much this!

[@jasoncarrick5461]

I will probably check this out at some point over the winter, anytime Hugo Weaving's name pops up I can't help thinking how underrated "V for Vendetta" is.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

He's always good!

[@jasonraschen1109]

Thank you for doing a review of this. I loved “The Assistant”. It was my second favorite film of 2020. So I was looking forward to this but haven’t seen any videos about it (from creditable critics).

[@BreakfastAllDay]

We are honored to be your creditable critics of choice!

[@RykComerford]

The Australia location makes me want to take the Rikki & Pete DVD off the bookshelf and give it a rewatch. A quirky 1980s Aussie comedy about a brother & sister on a road trip through the outback, it's funny. Very different from how the reviewed movie sounds.

[@realmikewebb]

I like how this film definitely puts you on edge and in a state of feeling uncomfortable. I really like Julia Garner’s performance, as well as the setting and cinematography. My biggest complaint is that it just ends abruptly (no spoilers here). But for the most part I mostly enjoyed and I would also love to see whatever Kitty Green does next after two very good solid narratives. Saw it yesterday in a double feature with Stop Making Sense, which is the exact opposite of feeling uncomfortable. I’d give that a 10/10 as well.

[@blankname6629]

It’s a snore fest with zero payoff. The bad guy in it is just a local drunk

[@janechoy2073]

I'll be honest to say that i'm very impressed by Jessica Henwick's post Game of Thrones filmmography! I'm glad that show didn't bog her down or typecast her and that she was able to steadily keep working in movies of different genres!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

She's made some interesting, eclectic choices!

[@diamonddavewonfor]

"Wake in Fright" is DOPE.

[@jtatsiue]

Sense of place, tense atmosphere, minimalist script, great performances that ring true, yeah, yeah, yeah, but this isn’t a fully fleshed out “story”, it’s a situation, a precarious, potentially life-threatening predicament, akin to horror movies like The Cave, or The Descent, but I need something a little less plucked from any and all context. The 91 minute runtime suggests that a lot was cut, meaning the script probably got in the way. The dynamic between the 2 girls was evident from the start, but I wish I’d known a little more about these characters.

[@rogerbell8429]

I agree with you. The characters are great, the sense of place is really strong. You can virtually smell the sweat and booze. There's a constant sense of danger and threat. Are the guys just having a bit of banter, are the sexual jokes just their way of communicating with women, or is there a sinister side to their intentions? It's all handled very well by the director, and the performances are excellent. My only criticism is that the relationships between the characters could have developed a little more including between the two female leads.

[@blankname6629]

There is no pay off in this movie. It builds to nothing. A fist fight outside and two girls burning it down. That is a terrible ending

[@am374]

Curious what the plot thing was that Alonso was referring to? Was it the phone call?

[@BreakfastAllDay]

There' s a conversation he thinks they should have -- a warning from one to the other -- that doesn't happen.

[@michaelhein5455]

​@BreakfastAllDay Please clarify. I saw the movie, and I am not sure which characters' conversation you are referencing.

[@veronicaguppy4786]

Wow that feels like my life and I'm in the city.Too much alcahol in this country.Maybe it brings more tourists making the outback scary as movies do but be careful out there kids.

[@stevecatanio8532]

Hey guys. I'm going this weekend plus Taylor Swift Eras tour movie. Can't wait. Have a great Breakfast 🥞🍳

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Have fun!

[@smithpatricemary]

I'm Australian, and this movie is why I live in the city. Enough said. Very close to bogan Aussie male behaviour. Can be really scary stuff.. I have seen "Wake in fright", such a great, but haunting and frightening movie, especially for its time. Definite comparisons. 😢

[@l31007]

This movie was a stinker. Maybe worth going straight to DVD. I was hoping so much from Garner and Henwick. The ending couldn't be dumber or abrupt.

[@morelwilliams7133]

It was so close to being good. Didn’t stick the landing though. Don’t bother.

[@ssilva872]

I saw this movie on Saturday at my local independent movie theater I love going to see Oscar movies at but I just now watched this review. I was just not a fan of the film. I'm going to spoil stuff so don't read if you haven't seen it yet and want to. Ultimately I found that the movie was pretty boring and I kept expecting something 'scary' to happen based on the limited stuff I knew about the plot and from the trailer. But nothing really did and I was just ok can I leave now? I was never scared so I'm shocked that some people were watching any moment of the movie behind their fingers. Like WTF it's not a scary movie let alone some movie with gore in it like Saw X... Julia Garner's character Hannah overreacted to a lot of stuff that happened in the movie. And her friend Liv played by Jessica Henwick was mostly chill until she got plastered and became a useless liability. The characters really were just messes and I didn't care about them much. The dude named Teeth played by James Frecheville was the best character and sadly for him was a nice guy who finished last. Toby Wallace's character Matty was also the highlight of the movie. Third place goes to Ursula Yovich as Carol the mostly sweet chef for the hotel. The ending was dumb. I hope they end up getting arrested for burning down The Royal Hotel. Drunk idiots deserved to be punished! I figured the audience score of 42% being SO much lower than the Rottentomatoes score of 92% was because men review bombed it since going into it I knew it was focusing on toxic masculinity... But if that actually happened or not then I can't even blame them because that big of a difference in the scores should have warned me to not pay to see this movie... So me feeling letdown and unsatisfied after leaving the theater is on me because I was warned and should have saved my money for this Thursday to see a movie I'm very hyped for in Anatomy of a Fall.

[@instructivesilence359]

Interesting that you thought Teeth was a nice guy. Teeth used well worn, rote methods of manipulation and "nice guy entitlement" at every turn. Him asking her out in front of everyone at the bar was the equivalent of a dog pissing on a fire hydrant. Him saying "you're mine" to excuse his violence doubled down on the point that he was a controlling, violent, manipulative monster. And also....he likes to bite in addition to using his fists. The writer never gave any reason to think he was a good person, even his name was an indicator.

[@tel5690]

Saw trailer and thought interesting concept with serious female talent actresses Henwick and Gardner. Have to check it out

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Please do! Let us know what you think.

[@solomonmartinez1143]

Saw the movie twice! Feel kinda bad for "Teeth"

[@BreakfastAllDay]

That was a complicated subplot.

[@nederlanditisnederlanditis5529]

what? he beats up dolly because he thinks she were his! a fight of hunters. there is nearly no decent male character in this film.

[@princeowiredu2022]

i like the woman. shes' so well spoken and eloquent. i'm subscribing!!!!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Welcome, and thanks!

[@BobSullivanAKABuffy]

Really liked this. Teeth and Dolly were both very good! Definitely different from the outback places Hugo saw in Priscilla! To then see in the credits this was based on a true story and a documentary?! Sure...now that Netflix DVD is gone! Ugh!

[@BobSullivanAKABuffy]

Good news! The doc Hotel Coolgardie is available on regular Prime Video!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Yes, we should catch up with that, thanks for the reminder!

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

I`ll be seeing out when it comes out here mate at the end of the month

[@crithon]

haha, I think I sobered up hearing that. But Hugo Weaving and Jessica Henwick peaked my interest

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Ha! Check it out. Both are very good here.

[@LEOIAMLEOONYOUTUBE]

You guys! I saw this cute little movie today called 'She Came To Me' with Peter Dinkaledge, Anne Hathaway, and, Marissa Tomei, and I loved it! I thought for a rom com, it was actually funny! I would love for you guys to check it out and maybe if you guys like it also, maybe do a review? I had a great laugh today with the film and I'm sad that the movie won't be seen more specially when I found it to not be that bad. I legit want to go back and see it! I was kinda very into it! It would be awesome if yall catched it! Thanks for this review!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Glad you enjoyed, have heard very mixed reviews! But Peter Dinklage is always great. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@christianattridge4344]

Dinklage pretty much committed career suicide with his nasty woke comments against his fellow dwarf/midget actors.

[@curtisebear1568]

I’m from the wake in fright town! Where it’s based on and filmed! This movie was great and just almost perfect on the portrayal. Few parts were completely wrong, highly doubt that boat cruise bar had fosters on tap.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Oh wow! That's funny, why wouldn't they have had Foster's?

[@curtisebear1568]

@@BreakfastAllDay nobody drinks fosters here. I’ve worked in bars and never seen one. Last time I saw a fosters was in the mid 90’s.

[@erdbeermund78]

I saw this movie two weeks ago and I'm just now realizing that was Hugo weaving lol

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Right? It makes sense in retrospect though.

[@OneRedKraken]

This movie was just pure wasted potential. It's almost criminal. The location, setup and characters/acting all great. The plot and conclusion though? It meanders and teases to things it didn't have the courage to dive into. And then wraps things up in probably one of the most unsatisfying ending I've had the displeasure to watch this year. If this was labelled a drama about two girls trying to find themselves overseas. Sure. But attaching the thriller tag to it is just a recipe to disappoint anybody who goes into it expecting a thriller. The biggest problem is when the very few tense moments show up, and don't bear fruit or shift the movie into a thriller. It gets increasingly disappointing. And with mere minutes of screen time left when you think it's finally going to go for it. It doesn't even do anything and fizzles out like a wet firecracker. And I seriously don't think the owners deserved what happened in the end. Also did they leave the 4300$ in the till? Felt about as senseless as the whole movie. It almost felt like the movie was more concerned about it's rating than it was to deliver a truly memorable story. And so it ends up being the type of movie you will surely forget in a month or less.

[@brianng8350]

Looking forward to his movie, but kind of avoiding it because it looks like a stressful or depressing movie, and that is the last thing I need with current event. It looks kind of like the Accused -were the women leading things on or did the men go too far? Hope to catch it tonight or Thursday night before Taylor Swift sweeps through all the theaters this weekend.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It is stressful but very well done.

[@ThomasKirby-ub4vy]

I got lots of “straw dogs” vibes and even Darren arronofksy’s mother 2017. Especially when the bar gets way too packed and she loses her friend. Although mother is a crazy ride I feel like here it does metaphor a little better with maintaining control of yourself against other people. Also reminded me of an updated texas chainsaw film not saying this is better but that same sort of middle of nowhere broken down buildings and gas stations and nobody could hear u scream for miles. Very well done

[@BreakfastAllDay]

That's a really interesting observation -- like the rules of civilized behavior don't apply in a place like this, and that's scary.

[@tiny__macneill]

My first feature movie, and what an incredible cast to be amongst!

[@morganfilmfan]

I've been wondering where the What The Flick crew went! Glad to see you guys again!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad you found us! We have been here for about five years, stay a while and look around 😄

[@cjwright79]

phenomenal review. I was continually impressed with each new psychological insight, each new turn of phrase, the elegant use of diction... that sponsor coffee really is boosting your brain power, everybody buy some! 😅

[@nevetsny1]

Screening at 7 theaters in NY.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

That's great! Will you check it out?

[@mmmjh1]

This had me grinding my teeth throughout.

[@michael-4k4000]

Really love the channel! Not a good movie 🍿

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks for watching! And sorry to hear that.

[@robertofukuall2910]

This sounds a bit like Wake in Fright.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Yep, Alonso mentioned that!

[@TheWisestWizards]

Been looking forward to this one, happy to hear it's good! I've only ever seen Julia Garner in Ozark, so it'll be nice to see her in a different role.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Let us know what you think of it!

[@blackkcinamacritic]

No.1 I really like this movie a lot No.2 I'm glad that Jessica henwick is getting work posts Marvel Netflix I thought the movie was pretty funny I like to plot a lot the friendship was organic it's a mix between cocktail and Coyote Ugly it has those normal two women in torment by a bunch of men kind of thing going on but it overcomes that at the end of the movie, about that last part they did at the movie was a little unnecessary 7.5 / 10🏫💥💥

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Jessica Henwick was really good in Glass Onion, too.

[@ksmooth1973]

Wow just saw this movie and these are the only words for this slow, boring, goes no where and I fell asleep and one point. No more needs to be said except, dont waste your money.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Sorry it didn’t work for you.

[@ksmooth1973]

@@BreakfastAllDay Me too it was a waste of my time.

[@bruh_hahaha]

I found the Julia Garner character to be a real Debbie Downer. She bears some of the blame for some of the chaos that swarms her. Also, ending was unrealistic and lame.

[@jeffberg9522]

This appears to be a ripoff of the film ‘Hotel Coolgardie’

[@CCStmac]

This was a terrible film. God bless you for enjoying it.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Oh wow, what didn’t you like about it?

[@CCStmac]

@@BreakfastAllDay For starters: The sense of dread that stretches is excruciating. Why should I care about these characters? Totally underdeveloped. Even as a Julia Garner-stan this is the prototype of a film that has performers who are way greater than the sum of the parts. We know nothing about this phone call other than it happening. PLUS the ending.. Come on... we're in a real world (kind of) and then we go to an entirely different movie. Just not on the Julia Garner/Kitty Green collaboration train I guess. 🤪

[@robaer8d]

Review Reptile

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Haven't seen it yet, is it good?

[@robaer8d]

@@BreakfastAllDay I think so

[@iamroxx7595]

The movie was 🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️