Review of The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) by Lento Y — 02 Feb 2008

MDH is a film noir love story freak show. It features some interesting characters and a number of intriguing performances, but the main star of the movie is the hotel itself, and how it is abstracted to represent American culture.

There are also some interesting filming choices from director Wim Wenders in this surrealist detective story. But what interested me the most was Bono's involvement as writer and producer of the film, as well as main performer on and producer of the soundtrack.

What I found really interesting was how this film delved into so many of the themes that U2 explores in their music: America, celebrity, image, faith, love, pretension, and art. Given the context into which it fits into U2's career, it really makes the transition from the 1990s to the U2 of the 2000s make a lot more sense.

So I did enjoy this as a film, but I enjoyed it even more as a part of the U2 artistic canon. But whether you like U2 or not, it is still worth viewing.