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Written by Carla Meyer, McClatchy-Tribune
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Tuesday, 17 April 2007 |
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VACANCY
2 stars
Cast: Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley and Ethan Embry
Director: Nimrod Antal
Writer: Mark L. Smith
Running time: 80 minutes
Rated R (violence, disturbing images, language, brief nudity)
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Thrillers set in sleazy roadside motels require a few extra steps these days.
Having characters experience car trouble on a deserted road remains a timeless device. But cutting off their ability to communicate isn't so easy in an era when everyone carries a cell phone.
"Vacancy" addresses the phone issue by having unhappily married travelers David and Amy (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) encounter a lack of reception before their phone gets crushed. Without the cell phone, it could be any time: the late 1950s or early `60s, when the Pinewood Motel appears to have been built, or the `70s, when David and Amy's room last was cleaned.
Though this film wears out its welcome even at a scant 80 minutes, its retro storytelling still holds some appeal. Featuring a very basic concept and only a few characters, "Vacancy," written by Mark L. Smith, sometimes seems like a stage play. Or a teleplay.
As David and Amy first pull in to a gas station near the motel, you half expect Rod Serling to emerge from the heavy shadow and address the camera. Instead, an overly friendly attendant (Ethan Embry) appears, telling the pair he can provide a temporary fix for their car, which started making noises after David spun out trying to avoid a raccoon.
(If you believe the mechanic actually tried to fix the car, then I would like to tell you about a great little income property for sale: secluded resort, lots of mid-century modern details, elaborate home-entertainment system).
The extra time on the road does the movie good, at least on an acting level. The marital tension inside the car sometimes matches the tension created later, when David and Amy are terrorized in their room.
Amy disapproves of David's decision to take a short cut, and of David in general. Beckinsale plays chilly contempt quite well, and Wilson shows how exhausting dealing with such contempt can be. With gritted-teeth determination, David tries to stay positive while also staying awake on the dark road.
A tragedy has driven a wedge between them and prompted Amy to check out with the help of prescription drugs. This story element is a bit overdramatic for a slight genre film, but it makes Amy more sympathetic and underscores the effort it takes for her to go into action mode later.
The car breaks down not too far down the road, leaving the pair with little choice but to hoof it back to the motel. Once there, David turns princess, informing the manager (Frank Whaley), when he dares to ask for ID, that he's not planning to abscond with any towels.
Such condescension hints that "Vacancy" might turn into a tale of yuppie scum getting their comeuppance. But that would only work if the manager were not completely off-putting and weird.
Whaley overdoes the oddball act, and the quirky angles from which director Nimrod Antal shoots him suggest this guy is supposed to be comic relief. But the character is neither funny nor menacing. He's a bust.
Since the motel has no other guests, the manager probably has something to do with the mysterious pounding on David and Amy's side door from the room next door. Their captors tip off the couple early that things are amiss, via strategically placed videotapes as well as the door pounding. They are recording, and savoring, David and Amy's fear.
Sick stuff, certainly, but not always suspenseful stuff. Since the story unfolds in a limited space, and we know the villains are nearby, it's not necessarily a jolt when one pops up.
Yet one mystery continues to burn throughout the picture: Was the raccoon in on the whole thing? | Only registered users can write comments.
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