The Royal Hotel
Australian psychological thriller by Kitty Green (The Assistant) about the fortunes of two female Canadian backpackers in an Australian hamlet full of rowdy miners and alcoholics.
A thriller inspired by true events, the film follows Hanna and Liv who are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called ‘The Royal Hotel’ in a remote Outback mining town. Here they meet local and pub regular Matty and bar owner Billy. A host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture but things turn nasty when their jokes and behaviour cross the line. Soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.
In THE ROYAL HOTE, some themes – as well as lead actress Julia Garner – from Green’s previous film THE ASSISTANT return. The film almost cartoonishly magnifies sexism, machismo and power differences between men and women. The racist tendencies towards native Australians are also portrayed sharply.