The Royal Hotel

"A fun adventure is all they wanted."

2023 1h 31m EN

😐

5.4

MID

★5.4TMDB · 289

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After running out of money while backpacking in a tiny, male-dominated town in the Australian outback, two friends resort to a working holiday at the Royal Hotel. When the locals' behavior starts crossing the line, the girls find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.

“A fun adventure is all they wanted.”

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Cast

Julia Garner
Hanna
Jessica Henwick
Liv
Hugo Weaving
Billy
Daniel Henshall
Dolly
Ursula Yovich
Carol
Toby Wallace
Matty
James Frecheville
Teeth
Herbert Nordrum
Torsten

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kitty Green
Writers: Kitty Green, Oscar Redding
Languages: English, Spanish, Swedish
Countries: Australia, United Kingdom

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 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, Swedish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kitty Green, shot by Michael Latham. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A fun adventure is all they wanted.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kitty Green directs. Michael Latham behind the camera. Jed Palmer scores. Kasra Rassoulzadegan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Australia, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Spanish, Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, Swedish.
3International production across 2 countries: Australia, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Kitty Green, shot by Michael Latham. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jed Palmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Kasra Rassoulzadegan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick and Hugo Weaving carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A fun adventure is all they wanted.".
9IMDB entry: tt18363072 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 19 themes, including "friendship", "tourist", "female friendship", "workplace".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Latham
Original score: Jed Palmer
Editing: Kasra Rassoulzadegan
Production design: Leah Popple
Costume design: Mariot Kerr
Makeup / hair: Monique Muskens
Sound: Jed Palmer
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,366,715
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Royal Hotel (2023)

Also by

Kitty Green

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-11-04
★ 6/10
Canadians "Hanna" (Julia Garner) and her best mate "Liv" (Jessica Henwick) take jobs working in a remote outback bar where they are expecting to make some extra cash to fund their holiday. They arrive, though, to discover that the "Royal Hotel" is anything but royal.... It's run by the curmudgeonly "Billy" (Hugo Weaving), his long-suffering friend "Carol" (Ursula Yovich) and is largely populated by lively, chauvinist, blokes who are partial to some "Dickens" cider... The girls are clearly out of their depth initially, but can they find a way to assert themselves in the face of increasingly unambiguous sexually threatening behaviour? Daniel Henshall's slightly menacing "Dolly" becomes chief amongst their protagonists, but there is also the slightly manipulative "Matty" (Toby Wallace) and their alcoholic boss to contend with too. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting here. Clearly the toxic mix of raging male hormones and pretty much unlimited booze creates a fairly hostile environment for the women, but the story sort of plateaus aground a denouement that really disappoints. There's nothing really new here, nor is there anything particularly innovative. It plays rather unkindly to mid-Australian stereotype and sort of fizzles out at the denouement. It had potential, but somehow Kitty Green seemed uncertain as to how to conclude and so we end up with something unremarkable and frankly rather weak. Garner and Henwick are adequate, but that's about all I can say about this mediocre offering, sorry.

Production companies