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Rolling Stone MARCH 1, 2001 - by Peter Travers
THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL
Braveheart joins the FBI in a sinister stew about L.A. from director Wim Wenders
What kind of movie do you get when the great Wim Wenders (Wings Of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club) directs a story - by Bono, no less - in which Mel Gibson stars as an FBI man who investigates a murder in a fleabag L.A. hotel filled with misfits? Gibson has already weighed in at a press conference: "I thought it was as boring as a dog's ass." It's hard to argue. For starters, Gibson plays his role in a neck brace that makes him look like Frankenstein. The movie goes off the edge, just like Izzy Goldkiss (Tim Roth), who takes a flier off the hotel roof in the film's opening scene. Wenders and cinematographer Phedeon Papamichael work up some nifty atmosphere, enhanced by a soundtrack from the likes of Bono and Brian Eno. But the script that Nicholas Klein has conjured from Bono's idea is a quicksand that sucks down a solid cast, including Jeremy Davies, Milla Jovovich and Jimmy Smits. I should mention that Gibson's character was born with a third arm. It doesn't mean anything. It's just that kind of a movie.
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