Two young adult women are backpacking around, ending up at the Royal Hotel in Australia (wow, if ever a place was mis-named, it has to be this ratty place) where they take a temporary job tending bar to earn money. I think they are on some sort of "work/travel" program and that's how they end up in this backwater place. However, what they don't realize until it's too late, is that this bar in this remote mining community contains some really rowdy locals who all seem to have a huge drinking problem!
The pros of this movie are that it definitely held my interest while giving me someone to route for (Hanna, the one girl who seems to have the most common sense). The movie also kept me wondering, who exactly are the bad guys here? Are some of these awful beastly guys at the bar actually going to turn out to be good guys? What about this young guy Hanna sort of likes? Of the guy named "Teeth" her friend talks to? What about the owner of the bar who lives in a trailer? I never found the movie boring. It kept me engaged and thinking and wondering about stuff the whole time, like how is the girls' relationship going to survive the disagreements they keep having about staying at this remote place and dealing with these locals who obviously don't respect them?
Cons: For me, there really weren't any. Except for the fact everyone is drinking too darn much! It really makes you think if everyone cut down on the alcohol, their lives could be a whole lot less emotional and therefore, they could see things a lot more clearly. Like the fact they need to get out of that backwater place! Drink, drink, drink...all that drinking clouds judgement, especially for Hanna's friend who almost ends up getting...well, we don't know exactly, but she was locked into a car almost passed out, with all these beastly guys prowling around outside the car, so you guess what could happen in such a situation. Luckily Hanna grabbed an ax and found a way to rescue her.
I thought this movie was very watchable and believable and it held an element of fear and anxiety throughout...for these two Canadian girls who find themselves sort of trapped and at the mercy of this establishment which seems incredibly lawless and "anything goes" sort of atmosphere. They try to make the best of it to earn money, but you have to wonder if it's worth it. I would not have stayed, I can tell you that! The patrons of this bar they are tending do not respect women in the least, and it's that whole atmosphere of "lack of respect" and the sexual harassment and rude and disrespectful behavior that drives this movie as you see the girls trying to deal with it or ignore it.
Would this movie appeal more to women than men? Perhaps. All I know is that I thought it was very well made and I'm glad I watched it. I also can't help but wonder....are things really this bad in the rural areas of Australia?
The pros of this movie are that it definitely held my interest while giving me someone to route for (Hanna, the one girl who seems to have the most common sense). The movie also kept me wondering, who exactly are the bad guys here? Are some of these awful beastly guys at the bar actually going to turn out to be good guys? What about this young guy Hanna sort of likes? Of the guy named "Teeth" her friend talks to? What about the owner of the bar who lives in a trailer? I never found the movie boring. It kept me engaged and thinking and wondering about stuff the whole time, like how is the girls' relationship going to survive the disagreements they keep having about staying at this remote place and dealing with these locals who obviously don't respect them?
Cons: For me, there really weren't any. Except for the fact everyone is drinking too darn much! It really makes you think if everyone cut down on the alcohol, their lives could be a whole lot less emotional and therefore, they could see things a lot more clearly. Like the fact they need to get out of that backwater place! Drink, drink, drink...all that drinking clouds judgement, especially for Hanna's friend who almost ends up getting...well, we don't know exactly, but she was locked into a car almost passed out, with all these beastly guys prowling around outside the car, so you guess what could happen in such a situation. Luckily Hanna grabbed an ax and found a way to rescue her.
I thought this movie was very watchable and believable and it held an element of fear and anxiety throughout...for these two Canadian girls who find themselves sort of trapped and at the mercy of this establishment which seems incredibly lawless and "anything goes" sort of atmosphere. They try to make the best of it to earn money, but you have to wonder if it's worth it. I would not have stayed, I can tell you that! The patrons of this bar they are tending do not respect women in the least, and it's that whole atmosphere of "lack of respect" and the sexual harassment and rude and disrespectful behavior that drives this movie as you see the girls trying to deal with it or ignore it.
Would this movie appeal more to women than men? Perhaps. All I know is that I thought it was very well made and I'm glad I watched it. I also can't help but wonder....are things really this bad in the rural areas of Australia?
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