The Motel Life

"They will do anything to find the truth"

2013 1h 35m EN

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 82

DramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A pair of working-class brothers flee their Reno Motel after getting involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident.

“They will do anything to find the truth”

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Cast

Emile Hirsch
Frank
Stephen Dorff
Jerry Lee
Dakota Fanning
Annie James
Kris Kristofferson
Earl Hurley
Joshua Leonard
Tommy
Noah Harpster
Al Casey
Garrett Backstrom
Young Jerry Lee
Andrew Lee
Young Frank

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan Polsky
Writers: Noah Harpster, Micah Fitzerman-Blue
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan Polsky, shot by Roman Vasyanov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Holmes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hughes Winborne shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff and Dakota Fanning carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They will do anything to find the truth".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1559036 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 82 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan Polsky directs. Roman Vasyanov behind the camera. David Holmes scores. Hughes Winborne cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 13 years ago.
2Directed by Alan Polsky, shot by Roman Vasyanov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by David Holmes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Hughes Winborne shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff and Dakota Fanning carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "They will do anything to find the truth".
7IMDB entry: tt1559036 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 82 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roman Vasyanov
Original score: David Holmes
Editing: Hughes Winborne
Production design: Ryan Warren Smith
Costume design: Kurt Swanson
Makeup / hair: Michelle Kearns
Sound: Tom Myers
Stunt coordinator: Danny Epper
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Motel Life (2013)

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-12-24
★ 5/10
The story of two orphan and strongly bonded brothers. I have been set eye on this for some time, but only now I been able to see it. It was not as good as I expected, but an okay film. The story of two brothers who were orphaned at very young age and since then they have never been parted as they promised to their mother. Now grown up to adult, one of them commits an accident and decides to run away with it. When the law makes the progress on the case that leads to them, what's now and how they fight it was focused in the rest. Very ordinary screenplay. Feels like a bit realistic, but there's nothing much happening at all. Thanks to those additional animations which actually lifted the film a bit. I loved those sequences over the real film. So this for the first directional film for the Polsky brothers and they were okay. I liked the cast of the brothers. apart from them there's no one that impressive. The romance was very weak, though only the ending was high. I don't know the novel, it was based on, but the film lacked some good scenes or the events. Not just one or two, but in many parts the film should have been better. They should have altered the storyline from the original source. Especially the fate of amputated brother was too intentional as story wanted to end other way around. It was all the sudden and ruined the rhythm. The film is not good for everyone's viewing, so I suggest you be a careful if you want to try it. 5/10

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