source: The Motel Life

A dark depressing film with enough character development to keep you engaged. Well acted and believable, this movie is sad and touching. Well worth watching.

Another unremarkable indie flick with a great cast. It did have some good moments scattered here and there. I usually love these working class movies. I like watching movies about small town American life. But this one was too slight. It seemed to be uninspired. The only interesting moment was during the Tyson boxing match. Anyway, the cartoon bits were very well done. EMILE HIRSCH does a decent job. STEPHEN DORPH does not have much to do. It is a waste of resources actually. KRIS KRISTOFFERSON and DAKOTA FANNING were completely wasted. (5/10)

Review: I wasn't that impressed with this movie. I found it pretty boring and the storyline wasn't that interesting. Watching the two brothers going from hotel to hotel, escaping the law because of a simple accident, became a bit tedious after a while, and because of the pace of the movie, i lost faith of anything interesting to happen. The acting wasn't bad from Dorff and Hirsch but the script really let the movie down. Its a shame because the concept wasn't that bad and with the helpings of Kris Kristofferson and Dakota Fanning, the director really did have some descent actors to work with. Anyway, at the end of the day, the director really did make a disappointing attempt of a road movie which is no ones fault but his own. Round-Up: I was quite a big fan of Stephen Dorff back in the original Blade, but he really hasn't been able to top that performance. I don't think that it's his acting style that has let him down. I honestly think that it just has been the bad choices that he has made throughout his career. Emile Hirsch hasn't had a bad career. After starring in movies like Lone Survivor, Killer Joe & Savages, I doubt that this movie will hurt his progress in cinema. I did have high hopes for this film, which is why I'm so disappointed with the outcome. I recommend this movie to people who are into there drama/thriller movies about 2 brothers who are on the run after a simple car accident. 3/10

Directors Alan & Gabe Polsky have offered up for us (the viewers) a tragic soap opera type story that really works from start to finish. What I mean by 'really works' is that this movie tells a sad and dark story very well. The brothers Frank & Jerry Lee are forced, by circumstance, to face life alone at a dangerously young age. Their survival depends on the two of them always being together and in doing so an unbreakable emotional bond develops between them. Having to face growing up alone in this world the influences and direction in their lives are not too wise and they do not always make the right decision. Thus the two hit the road the evade being implicated in a hit and run accident. They are not criminals and they have feeling of guilt. Frank suffers a disability (leg amputation) and is both physically and emotionally dependent on Jerry. Jerry is devoted to Frank and drinks too much booze. This sad and dark mix make for a disturbing yet captivating story that will keep you interested. Alan & Gabe Polsky show us the human vulnerable and needy side of Frank & Jerry and not a angry and hateful side of these two characters. And I believe that is what makes this movie 'cinema art'.

The Motel Life tells the story of Frank and Jerry Lee, played by Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff, as they navigate through their hapless life bouncing from motel to motel. When Jerry Lee is involved in a fatal hit and run, the two brothers go on the lamb from authorities. This is a film that really has a great story to it, great characters but never really capitalizes on where we think it is going to go. Instead, The Motel Life trades realism for nihilism as we see Frank telling his handicapped brother Jerry Lee wildly unrealistic stories to get him through the pain of his life all while running away from the inevitable consequences of his fatal hit and run. While the idea of the fanatical alternate universe that these brothers create for themselves represents their wanting for a better life, it never really shows them doing anything to achieve that desire. Unfortunately, the film focuses way too much on the depressive empty hope that Frank fills Jerry Lee's head with. While the stories are told in a unique way, by crude animation shorts over Hirsch's voice over, these stories never really progress into anything more than something different. The Polsky brothers direct the hell out of their actors, but spend little time trying to make any sense of the script. The script is uneven, spending too much time introducing the characters and not enough time developing something close to a coherent plot. Despite the negatives of the screenplay, The Motel Life does feature fantastic performances around the board. These performances make the film worth watching on that fact alone. Joining Hirsch and Dorff are Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson, both of whom turn in wonderful supporting performances. Emile Hirsch is amazing as Frank and carries the film on his scrawny shoulders and brings it to the finish line but the real prize winner here is Stephen Dorff. Dorff's ability to make you genuinely feel heartbreak for him is impeccable. His performance as Jerry Lee shot to the top of my list of most underrated performances of all time. He is so sincere, his delivery is amazing and his scenes of showing true emotional pain and anguish is so believable you want to hug him through the screen and tell him everything will be okay. It is truly a remarkable performance from an actor that never really got his due. Dakota Fanning, while her role is rather pointless and underdeveloped, gives a very good performance here, shedding her child star persona for a gritty and truly heart wrenching portrayal of an abused runaway. Fanning's performance here is excellent but it really makes you want more out of her and the film leaves you wishing that the Polsky brothers gave her character a bit more screen time. Overall, this is a very uneven film in regards to a story but the performances are so amazing, making it worth the watch.

The initial premise for Alan and Gabriel Polsky's low-budget indie movie is a familiar one. Two brothers - Frank (Emile Hirsch) and Jerry-Lee (Stephen Dorff) make a childhood pact never to be separated. They hole up at a Reno motel, where we discover that Jerry-Lee has killed someone, forcing the brothers to move on to another seedy motel in a remote small town during the depths of winter. The focus centers on the rootlessness of their lives as they try to make the best of unprepossessing circumstances. Several road movie conventions are present in the movie - the use of shots of deserted, often soulless highways; the impersonality of motel rooms with their identikit furniture and cramped living conditions; and the seedy roadside cafés where Frank spends much of his time having snatched conversations with passing acquaintances before buying food for his disabled brother. The two of them have never enjoyed a settled existence; like nomads they move from place to place, making the best of primitive living conditions. What lifts this film above the run-of-the-mill is the emphasis on the brothers' creativity. Jerry-Lee has only one leg, the result of a childhood accident when he fell off a moving train. But this handicap does not prevent him from being a talented artist. His abilities relate directly to one of the film's major themes, realized through Mike Smith's brilliant animation. Frank is a storyteller, weaving fantasies of male heroism and female conquest every night to keep Jerry-Lee amused; these fantasies are portrayed on screen, suggesting that Jerry-Lee is using his god-given talent to create mental images in his imagination. Through this device we learn something of the brothers' potential; despite their humdrum lives, they have stories to tell that can engage our interest just as deeply as those higher up the social scale. Alan and Gabriel Polsky's use of music is striking, not only evoking the mood of each scene but creating a wistful ambiance, making us realize how people often have little or no opportunity to make use of their talents. THE MOTEL LIFE may be a modest movie, but it is certainly compelling.

Dire, Depressing, and a Bit Boring, this Indie Slice-of-Life Definitely has Talented Filmmakers at Work, but this is so Downbeat that it Never Raises True Concern or Empathy from the Viewer. Mostly Because it just Tries Too Hard. Virtually Humorless, Except in the Violent, Sketchy Animation that has its Charm. But that is about the Only Thing Charming in this Desperate Tale of Brotherhood. Emile Hirsch is Stoic and Noble in His Devotion to the Handicapped Stephen Dorff Playing Against Type as a Half-Wit Artist that is Hobbled by More than just One Leg. It is a Good Try, but the Film is Lifeless in its Showing of a Life with Less than Nothing to Live for. It Needs Some Upbeat Tweak to Contrast and Balance the Bleak and the Bummer that this so Strongly Embraces.

Plot abstract - brothers grow up with bad luck always looking for them; almost every imaginable thing that can go wrong does. But, they still have each other's back and their storytelling. From an acting, filming and creative storytelling pov it's a four or five but a couple of things moved it down the charts for me. First, no subtitles and for a film which is storytelling dependent that is a no-no. Not only difficult for any hard of hearing, etc. but the enunciations and unique dialogue were difficult to follow anyway. Second, the pacing and over redundancy of the main theme made watching really slooow. Perhaps intended to embellish the cold desolate mood which the director also provided with other filming techniques but it turned out to be too much. Like having the same meal repeatedly, it loses it's taste eventually.

This film was such a heartbreaking journey. Following these two brothers who seem to just drift through life together, the strength of brotherhood and the necessity of imagination and distraction in getting by in life through tragedies and struggles are themes both strongly examined throughout the film. And the animations are incredible - really bringing to life this drunken journey in an icy and isolating environment. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on the Polsky brothers to see what they create next. Definitely buying it on their site and helping them to get the word of it out there by signing up to become a TML affiliate on their site - themotellifefilm.com!