Review of The Motel Life (2013) by Manny C — 02 Dec 2013

Life has not been kind to the brothers Flannigan, Jerry Lee (Stephen Dorff) and younger brother Frank (Emile Hirsch). Dorff and Hirsch, of course, are flat out terrific, completely engaging and nailing their roles. These orphans saw their mother taken by cancer and their only memory of their absent father is a gold-plated rifle he left behind. Frank is a recovering alcoholic while Jerry Lee suffered the loss of a leg while hopping trains. Their life consists of sleeping around in seedy motels. Yet Frank still manages to create incredible stories that sees the brothers great heroes while Jerry Lee makes drawings that are astonishing.

Fittingly, debuting directors Alan and Gabriel Polsky, themselves brothers, chose Willy Vlautin's 2006 novel for their first feature. It's a most excellent debut, finding all the richness in the bonds and travails of these two brothers. Working from a script by Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, the Polskys manage to mine the secret places and grieving hearts that Hollywood typically shies away from. And it's all to the good. Sure, all the drawings and flashbacks don't always add up to cohesive whole, but the driving emotions do hit, and they hit hard. The toughness of everyday life forces the brothers to bolt from their lives in Reno, Nevada where Frank is employed by a car dealer (Kris Kristofferson, in one of his best performances), while Jerry Lee becomes involved in a hit-and-run. So the boys must now run from the law where they stop in Elko, Nevada and Frank reconnects with his estranged girlfriend Annie James (a wonderful Dakota Fanning). Hirsch hasn't been this amazing onscreen since his striking turn in 2007's Into The Wild, and Dorff, in a performance on par with his amazing work in Sophia Coppola's Somewhere digs deep to get into the pain and nuance in Jerry Lee. One scene has Frank helping his brother shower, and its an emotionally devastating and wickedly funny scene. The Polskys skillfully etch a portrait of hard lives lived on the margins of society, of damaged people finding redemption through art. In a movie world starved for real truth and ambition, The Motel Life strikes a chord.