Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) - Virginia Eufemi
Swiss premiere in the «Films of the third kind» category at NIFFF, Hotel Artemis by Drew Pearce follows in the tradition of the action film with a clean, innovative style.
The penthouse of the Hotel Artemis isn't just any suite. Nurse Jean Thomas (Jodie Foster) takes in wounded criminals who don't want to be recognized in public hospitals. At Hotel Artemis, they take the name of their medical suite: Honolulu, Nice, Niagara, Acapulco. But the institution has very specific rules «that keep the world out»: you have to be a member to be treated, guns aren't allowed in and you don't kill other residents.
The secret location belongs to Mr. Franklin, as does most of Los Angeles, which in the year 2028 is plunged into violent riots over water shortages. But when Nice, a seductive French infiltrator (Sofia Boutella), targets Niagara (Jeff Goldblum), Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown) had better leave before things get out of hand. Besides, aren't rules meant to be broken?
Drew Pearce - screenwriter for some of Hollywood's biggest productions, such as Iron Man 3 - plunges us into the action from the very first minute of Artemis Hotel, which begins in medias res with a failed bank branching. At last, a proper action film! The rhythm and sequence of scenes are the strong points of this breathless, gripping feature film, which succeeds on several levels. Firstly, it respects the codes of the genre: gunshots, sexy women, touching moments, explosions. Artemis Hotel follows in the tradition, without becoming predictable or boring. Drew Pearce makes an excellent action film here, with a fine cast of actors.
Jodie Foster delivers a nurse a woman marked by suffering, whose sole mission is to help her fellow man. But the real protagonist is the Hotel itself; the viewer doesn't follow one specific character, but several at once, who evolve and reveal themselves as the story unfolds in this hectic closed-door setting. It's always night in L.A.: the Hotel Artemis doesn't see sunlight, a nod to the goddess Artemis, associated with the Moon, but also with hunting and wild animals. This refuge for wild creatures alternates a decadent 1970s ambience with cutting-edge medical technology.
The image is relatively dark, tinged with reds and browns. The music is striking, with old-time hits such as California Dreamin‘(1966) by The Mamas and the Papas, whose lyrics «I'd be safe and warm, if I was in L.A.» are completely at odds with the city's climate of insecurity. The narrative is linear, but features a few flashbacks,In contrast to the darkness of the present, these memories are filled with light, as if suspended in time and space. In contrast, Hotel Artemis is set in a precise unity of time and place, where we finally discover the events of «just another Wednesday».
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Write to the author : virginia.eufemi@leregardlibre.com
Photo credit: © NIFFF
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