Not just a pretty face, he's proven himself more than adept at humor, heroism-and now pure evil. WOW, she is good in El Royale! And Hemsworth at this point surprises no one with his range. He is accompanied by Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana. Erivo's soulful singing makes up a chunk of the soundtrack, and the plot, too, but it's her face that does all the work: her barely controlled irritation and rage threaten to burst from her like a dam breaking, until, later, when things start to heat up, they fade to biting condescension and steely calm. James Bond plays chemin de fer at the Estoril Casino in Portugal in the 1969 movie On Her Majestys Secret Service. Both are both utterly captivating: one as a wise and weary singer (a freakin' good one), and the other as a world-class creep.
Jon Hamm (a traveling not-salesman) and Dakota Johnson (a hippie on the run) offer up great performances too, but it's Cynthia Erivo and Chris Hemsworth who steal the show.
A word about the bang-up cast, which really is the best bit of the whole thing: You've got Jeff Bridges, being all Jeff Bridges, and of course he's excellent (when is he not?) as fake priest 'Father' Daniel Flynn. 2018s mystery thriller Bad Times at the El Royale is based on a fading casino hotel on the California-Nevada border.
