REVIEW - THE MOTEL LIFE

Applying sentimentality with brute force, Alan and Gabe Polsky's The Motel Life is actually as touching as it is because of their direct, often callous approach to eliciting emotion. Rather than a flaming example of how not to evoke sympathy, it's more of a rebuttal to the notion that heavy-handedness never gets you anywhere. Thick, heavy and heartfelt is the way forward for the Polskys, and it's possible that the more you resist it, the harder you'll fall. Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff play brothers Frank and Jerry Lee, homeless and destitute, now that Jerry has run a kid over and killed him, and Frank has lost his job in taking care of the matter since - wait for it - Jerry has ONE LEG after being RUN OVER BY A TRAIN because their MOTHER DIED FROM CANCER AND THEIR FATHER TOOK OFF! And Frank might be an ALCOHOLIC, haunted by memories of his lost love Annie, whose mother is a HOOKER! You gotta love it. Neither Dorff nor Hirsch have ever knowingly underplayed a role, but then at least they do know what they're doing in overplaying them. Dorff infuses Jerry Lee with hope and yet hopelessness, and fashions him into the tragic figure he's obviously supposed to be - goodness me it's cloying, but somehow also very affecting. Hirsch handles Frank with grace and sensitivity, making full use of every muscle in his face to further crank up the emotive quality of a film that survives only on how deep it cuts. And the inevitability of the plot hardly matters in the end - whether gradually or suddenly, the Polskys intend to cut right down to the bone, and there's no escaping it. An intentionally modest production, it's nonetheless memorably shot and scored. As a means of respite from Hirsch and Dorff's collective grandstanding, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson turn in sweet, subtle supporting performances.