Neo-Noir Film Review: The Hotel Artemis

The critic reviews left The Hotel Artemis like one of its clients, shot full of holes and bleeding.  I'm obviously not critic material since I thought it was a fun 96 minute with some genuinely clever scenes and noir dialogue and an interesting premise: a subscription only hospital where bad guys with a paid up membership can get patched up. But then I'm a sucker for neo-noir so my standards might be suspect.

The film does have very strong language, blood, and violence so if those elements are objectionable to you then you probably don't need to read further.

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The story is set against the most violent riot in California history. It is the year 2028 and water has been privatized. Clearwater Corporation has shut off the public water supply greater to Los Angeles. This has brought about a city-wide riot with the rioters attempting to move on Clearwater HQ. Opposing the rioters is ProShield, a paramilitary contractor. The rioters appear to have access to some heavy weapons since we see a helicopter shot down by a rocket.

The Artemis is run by Nurse (Jodie Foster), a agoraphobic, weary, worn, and cynical nurse with an odd shuffling walk employed by a crime lord, The Wolf King (Jeff Goldblume) who set up the hospital. She is assisted by a mountainous  orderly, Everest (Dave Bautista), who is obviously devoted to her. Already in the Artemis when the story opens are an international female assassin code named Nice and an arms dealer code named Acapulco. Nice is there with a self-inflicted wound (an excuse to get in); she is apparently on a contract hit (she only kills important people). Acapulco was severely injured by a girlfriend [?]. Soon arriving are Waikiki and his brother Honolulu who have been shot up during a botched bank job. With them is another member of the holdup gang, Buke who is not a member and is subsequently thrown out by Everest. Buke gives Nurse an opportunity to explain some of the rules  of the Artemis such as don't kill other patients and don't insult the staff.

Nurse gets a call that The Wolf King, a crime lord who owns Los Angeles, has been injured and is on his way in. With all the players present, the action gets serious with conflicts and highly charged emotions among the 6 people in the hospital rising to the surface.

The Artemis setting is ideal for a noir — dark and confined with highly volatile people. There is an marked contrast between the shabby furnishings of the hotel and the high tech medical suites.

The critics thought the idea was good but that the cast couldn't pull it off, that the viewer couldn't take them seriously in any real way. I didn't have that problem and bought into the way the actors played their roles.

Jodie Foster is excellent as Nurse who turned to alcohol after the death of her son and lost her license to practice. Besides her drinking is agoraphobic and finds herself subject to panic attacks and unable to leave the Artemis. I also found the way she delivers her lines very appealing. Sort of a "yeah,yeah, I've heard it all before so don't give me that shit" way. She affects an odd shuffling walk that I think adds to her character.

Dave Bautista, whom you might know from Guardians of the Galaxy, is equally good as her orderly, Everest. Besides being the muscle in the hotel he has a sensitive side and gives Nurse relaxation tapes to help her to overcome her anxieties. He and Nurse exchange some good repartee.

I'm not sure what Jeff Goldblum was going for as The Wolf King but can see where you might think he was just dialing it in.

I think all the other characters fulfilled their roles very well.

Sure there were some cheesy moments like the crime lord's son with daddy approval issues, the female assassin making a futile and pointless gesture, and Nurse's final scene. But so what. It is still a fun ride and the action set pieces are nicely done. I wasn't disappointed.

Some examples of dialogue:

Wolf King: You want me to take him out?
Nurse: Nah. He lives in Florida. Life took him out already.

Nurse: Things are going to hell in a hand basket full of blood and shit!

Nurse: Are you okay? You look all the shades of shit.

Everest: Hey, you see that badge? That means I'm a healthcare professional. But that knowledge goes both ways. So if you tell anybody about the Artemis, I will hunt you down and un-heal the shit out of you.


Links:
Interview with writer/director Drew Pearce.
Full cast and crew.

Keywords: neo-noir films