REAL-WORLD ATROCITIES TOOLED FOR SENSORY IMPACT

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2019)

Despite its fierce punch, Hotel Mumbai - pulled from release in New Zealand following the Christchurch shootings - hits shaky ground as it couples real-world terrors with disaster movie conventions. Maras keeps the focus sharp initially, ranging with controlled fluency from instructions heard on Islamist militants' headphones to the meeting of disparate characters at the hotel. Employees include Dev Patel's steady waiter Arjun and his boss Oberoi (standout Anupam Kher); guests include spouses Nazanin Boniada and Armie Hammer, with baby and nanny (Tilda Cobham-Hervey).
When the attacks begin, the staging is nerve-shattering. DoP Nick Remy Matthews' tight-knuckle framing turns hotel corridors into sites of claustrophobic terror; meanwhile, the nanny's struggle to quieten the baby in hiding generates horror-grade chills. Yet this show of genre proficiency starts to seem over-calculated. Comedic asides are utilised for tension-andrelease effect, awkwardly. Geopolitical contexts receive less attention than Jason Isaacs' wobbly Russian accent, while white characters' deaths draw more attention than non-white ones.
Even if Oberoi's "the guest is God" mantra nods to class themes, Maras seems more intent on serving perceived audience appetites for dramatic immersion than exploring them. As the in-the-moment impact increases, so does the queasy aftertaste.