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It's great to see people being able to put their ideas up on
the big screen without the crowd pleasing influence of the big
studios. The downside of this is that often the end result is
something that many other people will not like or understand.
The Million Dollar Hotel is an example of such a movie. Although
it may have matched Bono's vision, I found this Icon Production
directed by Wim Wenders to be just a bit too weird and pointless.
The story centres around an atmospheric old hotel in Los Angeles
called the Million Dollar Hotel. Apparently the heyday of this
establishment was in the 1930s during a Hollywood golden era,
but now (the year 2001) it has become a bit rundown and is inhabited
by an assortment of urban weirdoes. One of these characters
has recently died after a fall from the roof of the hotel. His
father, a prominent local businessman, has called in the FBI
to find the person who pushed his son (as he is confident that
Jewish people do not commit suicide). The FBI arrives in the
form of Agent Skinner (Mel Gibson) who will stop at nothing
to solve the case so he can get back to holidaying with his
fiancee.
Skinner has his work cut out for him dealing with the mostly
delusional inhabitants of the hotel. Foremost among them is
Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies), who as the hotel's resident gopher
and best friend of the victim, also provides some of the movie's
narration. Tom Tom is obsessed with Eloise (Milla Jovovich),
who drifts around in a daze claiming that she doesn't exist
and carrying books. There is also Jimmy Smits as a mad native
American, Peter Stormare as a 60s throwback convinced that he
was the brains behind the Beatles, and an aging hooker who claims
to have been the fiance of the deceased.
Bono came up with the idea for this movie after visiting the
real life hotel called The Rosalyn Million Dollar Hotel. He
wanted to do a movie that would capture the atmosphere of the
grand old building and tell a story of the people who lived
there. This he has achieved, but it is not overly clear what
the point of the story actually is. As a murder mystery, it
falls pretty flat because what actually happened is a bit strange
and difficult to decipher. If the suspense was supposed to come
from pondering the fate of the characters then that is all lost
because the ending is given away in the opening sequence (it
worked in American Beauty but not here).
Jeremy Davies is pretty good in a challenging role as the seemingly
idiotic but innocent Tom Tom. It his performance that brings
us closest to a character that we can develop emotion for. Milla
Jovovich does not have much to do except wander around, look
a bit spaced out, and scream at the top of her voice occasionally.
Mel Gibson's role is 'interesting' and is only pulled off due
to Gibson's on screen charisma and presence. It is difficult
to imagine this robotic looking high tech FBI agent having a
fiancee. And no rational explanation is ever given for Skinner's
futuristic back/neck brace contraption even though a significant
part of the movie is devoted to this particular feature of the
man.
All in all, a movie that I did not get much out of. Maybe there
are other people who can relate to it better than me.
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