Deanmullen2011
The Polsky brothers did a great job at bringing to life this intimate tale of two brothers adapted from Willy Vlautin's 2007 novel. Sympathy for the brother characters is rightly earned by two great performances from Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff. Having seen Emile in "Into the Wild (2007)", I feel that this style of film definitely suits his own style of acting. Dakota Fanning also add's her own valuable performance to the film, as one of her many stepping stones from the childhood actress we all knew to a young woman with a successful career ahead in her adult years. An intriguing drama that brings with it a sense of being realistic while still at times, managing to pull off brief humor while at other times being emotional. It isn't perfect but it is undeniably a touching movie, by far one of the better films out there and probably a film not seen by enough people.
PimpinAinttEasy
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)
Jade Estrada
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!
detjenmi
Recently, I saw the The Motel Life with Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff and Dakota Fanning and thought it was really interesting, captivating and told a true, dark story of two brothers. Directed by the Polsky Brothers, they took on the adaptation of The Motel Life. I haven't read the book, but I wonder what the book fans thought of the movie. Emile and Stephen's performances are intense and both characters are challenged as they run from the cops, search for money and try to survive. I really enjoyed Emile's performance. He portrayed Frank very well and could see the struggle to keep his brother well. As well, the sketch animation that is incorporated in the film just added to the story. That was one of my favorite aspects of the films. Sometimes films that try to add in animation with real life does not turn out well, but in this case, it worked!
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