Hotel Mumbai (2018)

It's rare that I invoke the name Paul Greengrass this early in a review and yet remain perfectly happy that he wasn't involved in it. Greengrass is the master at tackling horrifying real life acts on film (United 93 [2006], Captain Phillips [2013] and 22 July [2018] to names but a few). However, step forward Anthony Maras. To tackle something as heavy and horrific as the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks in your debut feature is bold; to produce something as heard hitting and excellent as this is simply remarkable. Maras' film does briefly at the beginning take in the wider scope of the attacks but for almost all of its two hour run time focuses solely on the siege at the Hotel Mumbai, concentrating on a few select guests and hotel staff members, most notably Dev Patel and Armie Hammer. Patel, from his roots as a laughable teenager in Skins, has turned into a true star, and his range is remarkable. It's not an easy skill to pull off both comedy and such serious subject matter; Patel has been managing it almost on a yearly basis now with roles as varying as something like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and this year's The Green Knight (which we await with baited breath). Hotel Mumbai should also be praised for its portrayal of the terrorists; like the Somalian pirates in Greengrass' Captain Philips we are given some inroads into the characters; however hateful and appalling their actions might be, we understand that that they are completely brainwashed. It doesn't make any of their extreme actions more palatable of course, and Maras rightly and impressively doesn't let the audience off the hook when it comes to the shocking violence. It's a breathless film, but this is no Greengrass thriller; Maras has made this and put his own stamp on the film making itself, and this is an excellent debut feature. I eagerly await his follow up. 7.8/10