Product: The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
Rating: 3.0
Excellent acting, weak story
It is tempting to pick up this film, as I did, because it stars Mel Gibson. If that is your motivation, think very carefully. Mel gives one of his less memorable performances and is more of an ensemble cast member than a lead actor in this film. Director Wim Wenders is considered by many to be one of Europe's best directors. This film offers numerous examples of that, but while it is an interesting character study of some very disturbed people, the story is so flimsy that the excellent acting and directing still can't prop it up.The story brings us a slice of the lives of some very mentally challenged people who live in a run down hotel. It is narrated by one of the characters as he plunges toward the ground after having leapt from the roof. FBI Detective Skinner (Mel Gibson) is investigating the death of Izzy Goldkiss, an artist (Tim Roth) who lived in the hotel. Izzy also plummetted to his death from the roof of the hotel. Everyone but Skinner thinks it was a suicide.Along the way we are subjected to the bizarre behavior of the residents of a loony bin without bars. It is like watching "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" without the storyline. We are treated to flamboyantly odd people, but we lack a reason for watching them and the novelty wears off quickly. The dominant theme is the love story between Eloise (Milla Jovovich) and Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies), who is our plunging narrator. This relationship is heartrending, but it is not enough to save the film. Though all the characters are colorfully portrayed, the uneven presentation does little more than make a case for the institutionalization of the mentally impaired.The acting by the ensemble cast is terrific. Milla Jovovich took this part fresh from her role as Joan of Arc in "The Messenger". Her portrayal of Joan was controversial because she played her as a borderline lunatic (and did so brilliantly). That experience served her well in this film, and it establishes Jovovich as one of the better depicters of the mentally bereft. Unfortunately, there are not enough such parts to warrant abandoning her modeling career. Jeremy Davies is the brightest spot in the cast with a wonderfully quirky performance. Jimmy Smits takes a delightful plunge into murky waters with an over the top portrayal of Geronimo, an Hispanic "Indian". Smits is terrific at the straight macho roles he usually plays, but this is quite a departure. He does a fabulous job and it is so incongruous to see him in the role that it is fun to watch.I'm not sure why Mel Gibson took this role. He has played some offbeat characters, but this one is off the chart. It was more of a caricature than a character. After the film opened, in a gesture of actor's remorse he publicly badmouthed the film to anyone who would publish his remarks. That was not a class maneuver. He should have been a professional and refrained from comment.This is an interesting character study that is about thirty minutes more madness than the average viewer should be required to bear. I rated it a 6/10 despite the weak story because of the strength of the acting. It's worth a look for Wenders fans, but Gibson fans steer clear.