The Royal Hotel movie storyline. Hanna and Liv are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called ‘The Royal Hotel’ in a remote Outback mining town. Bar owner Billy and a host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture, but soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that rapidly leaps out of their control.
The Royal Hotel is a 2023 Australian psychological thriller film directed by Kitty Green, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oscar Redding. The film stars Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Toby Wallace, and Hugo Weaving. It is inspired by the 2016 documentary Hotel Coolgardie by Pete Gleeson.
Principal photography took place in the town of Yatina and other areas around South Australia in August 2022. A disused bar in Yatina, a town with a population of 29, was used for The Royal Hotel. While the upstairs living area of the building was used for filming, scenes of the bar on the ground floor were shot on a separate stage. Filming took place over 21 days. Green and cinematographer Michael Latham storyboarded many of the scenes prior to filming.
The Royal Hotel had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2023. It also screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2023. It was released by Neon in the United States on 6 October 2023, and was released by Transmission Films in Australia on 23 November 2023.
About the Story
Two young American backpackers, Hanna and Liv, are travelling through Australia. After running out of money while partying in Sydney, they take up an employment agency’s offer to work as bartenders at the Royal Hotel, a pub in a remote outback mining town. Upon arrival, they meet the pub’s owner Billy and his wife Carol, who also works as the pub’s chef.
Hanna and Liv’s first shift is handling the raucous farewell party for their predecessors, English tourists Jules and Cassie. While working, they meet several of the regulars. Hanna is disturbed by the casual sexism, misogynistic jokes, and inappropriate behaviour displayed by the pub patrons, who are mostly men, although Liv brushes it off as a culture shock.
The next day, Jules and Cassie are driven back to town by a mysterious local named Dolly. Matty, a young regular at the pub who flirted with Hanna and Liv the previous night, pays them a visit and the group goes swimming nearby; Hanna begins to bond with Matty. Returning, they observe Billy and Carol’s unstable relationship and learn that Billy has not paid deliveryman Tommy for the last three months, much to Carol’s chagrin.
That night at the girls’ upstairs living quarters, while Liv is asleep, Hanna rebuffs Matty’s attempts to have sex, before ordering him to leave. In the morning, Matty apologises to Hanna. Over the next few nights, Hanna continues to endure harassment and microaggressions by the pub patrons, while Liv is embraced by the regulars for her easygoing attitude.
Liv begins to slack off at work and joins the regulars in drinking, striking up a friendship with local miner Teeth. During one quiet night, after an intoxicated Liv retires early and leaves Hanna to work alone, a drunk and aggressive Dolly antagonises Hanna and a few patrons before he is finally forced to leave by Billy. Hanna is rattled by the incident, but Liv believes Dolly to be harmless. Shortly afterwards, when a snake invades the girls’ living quarters, Dolly offers to retrieve it. The next morning, Hanna discovers Dolly has left the dead snake in a jar of alcohol with her name on it, further upsetting her, but Liv once again dismisses Hanna’s concerns.
After unsuccessfully attempting to get Dolly banned from the pub, Hanna announces that she and Liv are quitting, but Billy refuses to pay them. During an argument with Carol over paying Tommy and the girls, Billy injures himself in a drunken fall, forcing Carol to drive him to the nearest hospital. Before leaving, Carol reveals she has taken most of the money to pay Tommy and has left some for Hanna and Liv. She instructs the pair to make as much money as they can and then leave when the next bus arrives in two days.
The Royal Hotel (2023)
Directed by: Kitty Green
Starring: Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Toby Wallace, Hugo Weaving, Ursula Yovich, Herbert Nordrum, James Frecheville, Alex Malone, Bree Bain, Keylan Devine-Ingerson, Kate Cheel
Screenplay by: Kitty Green,Oscar Redding
Production Design by: Leah Popple
Cinematography by: Michael Latham
Film Editing by: Kasra Rassoulzadegan
Costume Design by: Mariot Kerr
Art Direction by: Troy Dignon
Music by: Jed Palmer
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout and sexual content / nudity.
Distributed by: Neon
Release Date: September 1, 2023 (Telluride)
Views: 45
