Product: The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
Rating: 4.0
A title for your review.
I happened to tune into this movie about halfway through at 4 in the morning. The first thing I noticed was Mel Gibson, who turned out to be the only thing I didn't really like about the movie, and I was about to change the channel, but the character Tom kept me interested. What unfolded before me was not an "art film," but a love story and a slightly comical, ironic murder 'mystery' (mostly mysterious because I didn't see the first half). The character Eloise was probably my favorite and in my opinion the most moving element of the movie, partly because she reminds me of someone I used to know--a real person whose emotion I could feel. I didn't even know this was a "U2 movie" or that more than one song on the soundtrack was by them until I read some of the reviews this morning, which was probably a good thing; admittedly, I would have been a little turned off by the fact if I'd known. But the soundtrack fits for the most part and I didn't find it dull. I would definitely describe this film as a "more feral version of American Beauty," as a previous reviewer has stated, in many aspects. One last thing: I find it incredibly amusing how a lot of the people giving bad reviews seem to think this is a Mel Gibson movie; IT'S NOT. They're outraged by the simple idea that the high and mighty Mel Gibson could have accepted such a 'horrible' role, and then they have the gall to complain about pretentiousness and how they couldn't find a deeper meaning if there was one; they should stick to Lethal Weapon, I guess. If you really want to enjoy this movie, a brain is helpful.