Yesterday I saw the noir thriller Hotel Artemis and, despite negative reviews from the critics, I actually really enjoyed it. In a dystopian future, a nurse (Jodie Foster) runs the Hotel Artemis, a members-only hospital for criminals, in an Art Deco building located in Los Angeles. An orderly (Dave Bautista), who also serves as a bouncer when the need arises, assists her. The nurse is an alcoholic agoraphobic who lost her licence to practice medicine when her son died. The current residents include an arms dealer (Charlie Day) and an assassin (Sofia Boutella) but they are soon joined by a bank robber (Sterling K. Brown) whose brother (Brian Tyree Henry) was injured in a botched job and an underworld crime boss (Jeff Goldblum). Everyone must follow the rules: no guns, no cops, and no killing the other patients. In the course of one night every one of the rules are broken because everyone in the Hotel Artemis has something to hide. The narrative is a bit derivative and it does meander a bit with some characters and subplots that serve no purpose. I also found some of the dialogue to be very clunky. However, the action sequences are fantastic, especially when Boutella's character fights a group of bodyguards by herself, and I loved the aesthetic of the hotel itself. In my opinion, what makes this film work is the character arc of the nurse (I love when a really flawed character is able to find some redemption) and Jodie Foster gives an incredible performance. This film won't be for everyone but I do recommend it to fans of action thrillers.
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