Hotel Mumbai is quite a heavy film. Not to say it gets bogged down in story arcs or anything, but the content of the film is intense, dark, and uncompromising. But wow, what a thriller!
Sadly enough, I didn't even know about the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Not until I saw the trailer for this film and noted that it was based on a true story. A true story where 10 members of an Islamic terrorist group carried out an attack that killed over 160 and wounded over 300 people.
It is interesting to note that this is actually an Australian film, and I think that is a reason why the film is rooted more closely in reality. Needless to say, when I see a film says that it is based on a true story, I like it when the film tries to be as close as possible. Not just sum the event up into a single line of plot and make the rest up. Hotel Mumbai has great attention to detail that shows how much effort the production crews and writers went through when interviewing the survivors to determine the direction for the film. There are certainly some aspects that definitely feel "added" into the film, like the inclusion of an Australian tourist at the start of the film (who is removed from the storyline pretty quickly), but that looks more like a decision made to get funding rather than to help with the plot.
There is another interesting aspect that really subverted my expectations, and while I won't go into too much detail, to avoid spoilers, while the marketing still really pushes the Western actors in the film (Armie Hammer, Dev Patel, Jason Isaacs, and Nazanin Boniadi), unlike Hollywood films, there isn't really a "white saviour" element to the film, which was refreshing.
Outside of the main five actors, there are some brilliantly genuine performances from the supporting cast. Not large roles by any means, but they leave quite the lasting impact. Whether it was the women at the reception desk or the chefs in the kitchen, they managed to create an atmosphere full of not only fear but of courage also.
An aspect that I was really impressed with, was the overall direction of the film. There was an opportunity here to paint the terrorists as one-dimensional villains. Characters that the audience would not even characterise as human due to the lack of empathy and violence that they display. But the antagonists are actually quite well developed. The audience is made aware of the terrorist's motivations (and they aren't selfish reasons) and highlights how religion is used effectively by militants to radicalize youth. Especially as religion has been a source of much conflict in India. Seeing both the fun and the struggles from both sides creates are much more rounded story and allows a more balanced performance that at times has us empathising with the antagonists.
I mention fun because there is still a sprinkling of comedic elements in the film. While slightly out-of-place in such a dark and gritty film, these little moments (about pork, nipples, and names) reduce the tension to something more bearable for the audience, and again helps with empathy. Another handy element that likely reduced their budget but and prevented the film from becoming too dark, was how the framing of the shot would often leave the gorier details just slightly off-screen. You don't necessarily get the visual element from the victim's side of things, but you still get the full gravity of the moment as your focus switches to the antagonist instead.
While the antagonists end up quite well developed, the protagonists don't get the same attention, unfortunately. With the film beginning right before the attack, we only get a gauge of how poor some of the workers are, and how affluent and important the western guests are to them. Beyond that, there is very little development on the protagonist side. It is still thrilling to watch purely because this sense of unknown puts them at risk at several points as you don't know what their motivations are.
As far as the individual cast members go, Dev Patel carries this film with ease. The standout performance, he fits the role perfectly and is engaging throughout. Armie Hammer and Nazanin Boniadi have convincing chemistry onscreen, but Hammer is, unfortunately, playing out the same role that he does in every movie. The man just doesn't have great depth when it comes to exhibiting facial emotions. His role certainly does help when it comes to subverting expectations set by decades of Hollywood films, however.
As far as cinematography goes, there is a fair amount of Handycam footage in the film, which does mean some action scenes early in the film are very much shakycam, but as the film progresses the style really brings a more personal touch to the viewer and immerses the audience in the film. I can't actually believe the whole movie (with the exception of external shots) was filmed in Adelaide. The details in the set design were impeccable, and it feels like you are genuinely there. The Taj Hotel manages to look spacious yet simultaneously claustrophobic, and it plays well into the suspense and tension of the film.
Visually, the film had a nice colour scheme with some contrasting gold and blue hues. But the CGI did let the film down. While minimally used, the presence of fires was very clearly CGI, and it did look a bit cheap. On the audio side of things, I couldn't tell you a thing about the score or soundtrack (or even if there was any) the film was so tense from start to finish, that I never got a chance to focus on the sound. I only really noticed the absence of sound, when a threat would result in a complete hush from both the actors on screen and the audience.
Hotel Mumbai does struggle a bit with the pacing in the middle slightly. As the film is near enough just the one plot arc spread across the entire film, there was little to accelerate the pacing or cause a shift in behaviours. So engagement did drop a little towards the second half, until the climax of the film.
You could say that the main thing that the film tries to convey is not the destructive power of the terrorists, but the resilience and bravery of the workers that put their lives on the line to protect the hotel guests, knowing that a back door and service stairs were available to use to escape at that point. You can't help but feel for these people that risked their lives (many dying) in the act of not selling out and abandoning their guests. The fact that in the real-life event, nearly half of the deaths were of the hotel workers, it says enough.
There is much to enjoy about this film; particularly I enjoyed the setup of the Hotel and the work ethos of those that work behind the scenes. The film is definitely a great thriller, but the development of the antagonists was both a good and bad choice. It humanised the attackers, and while it helps the audience understand their motivations, it leaves you feeling very much uncomfortable throughout the film. There isn't really a great payoff or big satisfying end to the film. It certainly does end, but the gravity of every death stays with you to the point that you cannot celebrate, or leave the film content. You still feel that sense of dread and emptiness long after the film ends.
There is much to enjoy about this film; particularly I enjoyed the setup of the Hotel and the work ethos of those that work behind the scenes. The film is definitely a great thriller, but the development of the antagonists was both a good and bad choice. It humanised the attackers, and while it helps the audience understand their motivations, it leaves you feeling very much uncomfortable throughout the film. There isn't really a great payoff or big satisfying end to the film. It certainly does end, but the gravity of every death stays with you to the point that you cannot celebrate, or leave the film content. You still feel that sense of dread and emptiness long after the film ends.