Fresh
Sensitive lensing and acting render an unusual story of brotherly love touching in a promising first film.
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter
The Motel Life
They will do anything to find the truth
2013 · 1h 35m · R
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Directed by
Alan Polsky
,
Gabe Polsky
Overview
A pair of working-class brothers flee their Reno Motel after getting involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident.
Director and cast
- Alan Polsky Director
- Gabe Polsky Director
- Emile Hirsch as Frank
- Stephen Dorff as Jerry Lee
- Dakota Fanning as Annie James
- Kris Kristofferson as Earl Hurley
- Joshua Leonard as Tommy
- Noah Harpster as Al Casey
- Garrett Backstrom as Young Jerry Lee
- Andrew Lee as Young Frank
- Nancy Youngblut as Mom
- Jenica Bergere as Polly Flynn
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
70%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Alan Polsky and Gabriel Polsky propel the material in a way that can feel over-determined. But they grasp the eccentricities and desperation of fringe dwellers, and at its strongest their atmospheric film has the pull of a sad outlaw song.
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
We have seen many films about losers on the run, but in the directorial debut of former Chicago siblings Alan and Gabe Polsky, we get an intriguing new take on brotherly love not only gone wrong, but clearly hopeless from the beginning.
Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
This independent drama effectively captures the spirit of much contemporary fiction: the tone is at once precious and stark, and the narrative drifts from one episode to another (and from realism to fantasy) as though it were playing out in a dream.
Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader
Rotten
As good as "The Motel Life" is for the actors, that's how bad it is for the viewer.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
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