The Motel Life

R

Released Nov 8, 2013

1h 25m

Drama

List

70%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The hardscrabble lives of two brothers (Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff) reach a breaking point when one accidentally runs over and kills a bicycle rider.

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Critics Consensus

The Motel Life transcends its frustratingly uneven screenplay with some outstanding work from a talented cast.

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Kate Muir

Times (UK)

The film is more downbeat than tense, interweaves animation sequences, and perhaps worked better in the original novel.

Jan 1, 2018

Full Review

Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

The whole thing is deep-down conservative and wetter than a Labrador's kiss.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 4, 2014

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

The rambling plot may resemble a lyric from a mawkish country song but the film-makers bring an engaging mix of tenderness and grit to the downbeat material.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 4, 2014

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Storytelling at its finest, The Motel Life is a deep reflection on the human condition and brotherly love.

Jan 7, 2020

Full Review

Bernard Boo

Way Too Indie

The Motel Life feels a little too down-in-the-dumps for its own good at times, but sparks of energy supplied by Hirsch and Dorff illuminate an otherwise dreary film.

Rated: 7.6/10

Apr 10, 2019

Full Review

Pat Padua

Spectrum Culture

Too often veers from the road by misguided design.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 31, 2018

Full Review

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Audience Member

Great movie to watch on the week with your fam bam

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The animated narrated stories bugged me. Bad ending. Bad movie, really.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a good movie, but will definitely bore a lot of people. It's very slow pace, but tells a nice story of 2 brothers that are very poor and who look out for each other. Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff both do a good job with their characters. I was surprised and disappointed that this is the only feature Film the Polsky brothers have done. They definitely need to get back to making movies. This movie shows a lot of talent with both of them.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The story of two orphan and strongly bonded brothers. I have been set eye on this for some time, but only now I been able to see it. It was not as good as I expected, but an okay film. The story of two brothers who were orphaned at very young age and since then they have never been parted as they promised to their mother. Now grown up to adult, one of them commits an accident and decides to run away with it. When the law makes the progress on the case that leads to them, what's now and how they fight it was focused in the rest. Very ordinary screenplay. Feels like a bit realistic, but there's nothing much happening at all. Thanks to those additional animations which actually lifted the film a bit. I loved those sequences over the real film. So this for the first directional film for the Polsky brothers and they were okay. I liked the cast of the brothers. apart from them there's no one that impressive. The romance was very weak, though only the ending was high. I don't know the novel, it was based on, but the film lacked some good scenes or the events. Not just one or two, but in many parts the film should have been better. They should have altered the storyline from the original source. Especially the fate of amputated brother was too intentional as story wanted to end other way around. It was all the sudden and ruined the rhythm. The film is not good for everyone's viewing, so I suggest you be a careful if you want to try it. 5/10

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The dark indie drama The Motel Life is a macabre tale that's pointless and depressing. Based on a novel, two brothers, Frank and Jerry Lee Flannigan, are a couple of lowlifes living out of motels and cars who go on the run after killing a kid in a hit-and-run. The film has strong themes of living in regret and brotherly love, but the characters are unsympathetic degenerates. Starring Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, and Dakota Fanning, the cast is pretty decent; however their performances are bland and uninspired. The directing is also an issue and is rather static; aside from randomly inserted animated sequences whenever Frank tells his brother a story. The Model Life is a largely forgettable film that doesn't really have anything to say.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Well made, but flat.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

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Alan Polsky

Director

Gabe Polsky

Director

Emile Hirsch

Frank

Stephen Dorff

Jerry Lee

Dakota Fanning

Annie James

Kris Kristofferson

Earl Hurley

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Synopsis

The hardscrabble lives of two brothers (Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff) reach a breaking point when one accidentally runs over and kills a bicycle rider.

Director: Alan Polsky, Gabe Polsky
Screenwriter: Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster
Production Co: Polsky Films
Rating: R (Language|Drug References|Brief Violent Images|Sexual Content|Some Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 8, 2013, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 13, 2015
Runtime: 1h 25m

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