S07.E03: Hotel Reverie

[QQQQ]

Issa Rae stars as A-list actor Brandy Friday, who's signed on to star in a remake of the vintage British film Hotel Reverie. There's just one catch: This isn't a normal movie shoot. Instead, thanks to a new system called Redream, Brandy's consciousness will be projected into Hotel Reverie. There, she'll replace the male lead, the dashing Dr. Alex Palmer, and act against AI constructs of the film's characters in real time.

[txhorns79]

I thought the premise of the episode was somewhat dumb.  The idea of creating a world where you take the place of a main character in a movie and interact with movie characters might make for an interesting choose your own adventure-style video game (since depending on your choices, the original movie storyline could be changed), but I don't know who the audience would be for the movie.       

[libgirl2]

15 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I thought the premise of the episode was somewhat dumb.  The idea of creating a world where you take the place of a main character in a movie and interact with movie characters might make for an interesting choose your own adventure-style video game (since depending on your choices, the original movie storyline could be changed), but I don't know who the audience would be for the movie.       

I agree, I didn't care for the premise and I thought it went on way too long. 

[CarpeFelis]

Premise was so-so and the episode was about twice as long as it should have been.

[QQQQ]

For me, when Issa Rae's character was supposed to be "acting" it came across as so unnatural and clunky in comparison to the other actors/characters. I never bought that she was a highly sought-after actress or that anyone would want to watch this  cut-and-paste remake.

Edited April 14 by QQQQ

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, QQQQ said:

For me, when Issa Rae's character was supposed to be "acting" it came across as so unnatural and clunky in comparison to the other actors/characters. I never bought that she was a highly sought-after actress or that anyone would want to watch this  cut-and-paste remake.

I guess you could chalk that up to it seeming like the entire project, from concept to casting to filming, appeared incredibly rushed and she had no rehearsal time.  However, I agree with you that she was wooden and clunky when we saw her acting against the movie characters.  There was also the fact that the characters would have been reacting to her as though she was the original actor who played the role, so any chance of doing something new by having them see her as a black woman was lost.          

[DrSpaceman73]

I liked this episode though not as well as the first episode of the season 

It seemed to mix some old twightlight zone themes with the star trek holodek

It did go a bit long. 

[SoMuchTV]

On 4/12/2025 at 5:37 PM, txhorns79 said:

I thought the premise of the episode was somewhat dumb.  The idea of creating a world where you take the place of a main character in a movie and interact with movie characters might make for an interesting choose your own adventure-style video game (since depending on your choices, the original movie storyline could be changed), but I don't know who the audience would be for the movie.       

Yeah, I also had a problem understanding the basic premise. If you can recreate movies with AI, what’s the point of getting an a-list star at all? Who is your target audience, and why would they care?  

That said, I’ll continue to watch the new season a little at a time. There’s always going to be something there. 

[Paloma]

Very disappointed in this episode for the reasons others have given already. But it was interesting to find out that Emma Corrin (Princess Diana in The Crown) played the role of the lead character and actress in the original movie--I didn't recognize her at all, but she did a good job with what she was given in this episode.

[QQQQ]

4 hours ago, Paloma said:

Very disappointed in this episode for the reasons others have given already. But it was interesting to find out that Emma Corrin (Princess Diana in The Crown) played the role of the lead character and actress in the original movie--I didn't recognize her at all, but she did a good job with what she was given in this episode.

Played the role of the lead character and actress in what original movie?

[Paloma]

2 hours ago, QQQQ said:

6 hours ago, Paloma said:

Very disappointed in this episode for the reasons others have given already. But it was interesting to find out that Emma Corrin (Princess Diana in The Crown) played the role of the lead character and actress in the original movie--I didn't recognize her at all, but she did a good job with what she was given in this episode.

Played the role of the lead character and actress in what original movie?

Sorry I wasn't clear--I'll try to clarify. In this Black Mirror episode, Emma Corrin played the dual role of the heiress Clara Ryce and the actress Dorothy Chambers in the Hotel Reverie movie, a 1940s movie that was being remade with the modern-day actress Brandy and AI actors playing the other roles from the original Hotel Reverie movie. In the preceding sentence, Emma Corrin is the only real name outside of the episode--she is a real actress who played the real Princess Diana in the real Netflix series The Crown.

[babyrambo]

Issa Rae’s performance was so stilted and emotionally vacant that it was actually distracting. By the end of the first act I was wishing that Aja Naomi King, who is being wasted on that shallow nbc show, was cast in her place. Because Issa’s acting was painfully bad. And made me realize that while she’s a talented writer, she’s one of those actors that just constantly plays herself and has zero range. Even Awkwafina, who is no great talent, was acting circles around her. The other lead was great and probably could’ve saved the episode with a better scene partner, but with Issa it was like watching her trying to get a brick wall to emote. And because the premise was already flimsy, the whole thing was pretty excruciating. Which was disappointing because this was the episode I’d most looked forward to. At least San Junipero (which was all I could think about while watching) had skilled actresses to help smooth over the more contrived aspects of the story. 

[tennisgurl]

I really wanted to like this one, as a big fan of classic Hollywood, but this did not work for me as much as I wanted it to. I like Issa Rae but I just don't think that this played to her strengths. She felt wooden when she got into the old movie, which is too bad when she is carrying so much of the episode. I also think that they didn't make very good use of Aquafina, she did alright with what she had but you would think a well known actress would have more to do. Emma Corrin was great though, she really has that old Hollywood look. 

I wondered at first if this was a Black Mirror take on people wanting to color black and white movies or remove things like cigarettes, or discuss remakes with gender or race swapping, but none of that really happened. The episode looked gorgeous, but it could have been a lot shorter and they didn't do much with the concept, 

[sugarbaker design]

Unpopular opinion, I loved it. Both Emma Corrin and Issa Rae have gorgeous faces made for Hollywood close-ups. And while the leads were commanding  it was Harriet Walter and Awkwafina who stole the show.

I also didn't entirely understand the scientific premise behind Redream, but that doesn’t bother me as much as it may bother others.

Loved the nods to Streamberry and White Bear.

[ICantDoThatDave]

On 4/14/2025 at 9:34 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Yeah, I also had a problem understanding the basic premise. If you can recreate movies with AI, what’s the point of getting an a-list star at all? Who is your target audience, and why would they care? 

Ask Disney. I think this episode actually explains what really happened with the Snow White remake.

[Racj82]

You bring in a current actor into this drum up interest in it. Its an existing IP. Studios will always try to find a hook to make money off of something already out there. Even if it's a bad idea, now people are talking. At worst, people who never saw the original will spend money seeking out the original piece.

Issa Rae is not a good actress. She does not have range.

What sucks is that her issue is a genuine issue for people of color in Hollywood. Even doing this black mirror story is unlike many roles she would be offered. But, her character in this would have landed way better with another actress.

[cmfran]

Aside from the length, I enjoyed this one. It's not difficult to see AI going this way with filmmaking in the future, and I liked the concept of the AI cast in the movie actually believing that they were the characters. 

We definitely saw a blend of several previous BM concepts in this ep, though. Especially the hyper-real VR world where your consciousness is uploaded. The time dilation thing is truly horrifying to think about, especially when it was introduced in "White Christmas."

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 4/16/2025 at 3:16 PM, tennisgurl said:

I wondered at first if this was a Black Mirror take on people wanting to color black and white movies or remove things like cigarettes, or discuss remakes with gender or race swapping, but none of that really happened. The episode looked gorgeous, but it could have been a lot shorter and they didn't do much with the concept, 

I would say the episode was still steeped in those types of subjects.

It was an implicit critique of Hollywood's banking on nostalgia, on its creative bankruptcy. on its willingness to do cheap shortcuts and more.

Hotel Reverie, it sounds like, was a pretty mid film, raised up by a couple key lines. It would certainly be possible to make an updated version of it, but the powers that be wanted to do it cheaply and quickly.

Would people flock to see a remake of Casablanca with (say) one of the Chris (Hemsworth/Evans/Pratt/Pine) taking on Bogie's role? Not a doubt in my mind that they would.

At the same time, it raises the critique that modern movie studios aren't so much about movies as a vehicle for a given actor but rather franchises.

The debates are all about woke Hollywood doing race/gender swaps to pander, but I think this was critiquing that by showing that they were looking to cast a bunch of white guys first, then they got rejected by them and even a black guy before Issa's character lobbied for the role. Nowhere in the thought process was looking for diversity or pandering to audiences.

It is not entirely coincidence that with women in key roles in Hotel Reverie Reborn that the original heroine finally got agency, even if it led to her tragic end. 

I think it is a commentary on the absurdity of colorblindness that the NPCs in the movie all act as though Alex was the same white male he traditionally was. 

[shrewd.buddha]

On 4/16/2025 at 12:34 AM, babyrambo said:

Issa Rae’s performance was so stilted and emotionally vacant that it was actually distracting.

This was supposed to be an A-list actor who loved the original movie - but then couldn't embody the original role (or didn't bother to).
The actor playing Clara/Dorothy was so good, the lead suffered by comparison.
  When the "romantic attraction" indicators were rising on the monitors in certain scenes, I couldn't help but think "really?". 
  Also - if such a thing were possible, wouldn't the studio insert A-list actors in all the leading roles, not just one?

It also did not help that it went on a bit too long.

16 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I think it is a commentary on the absurdity of colorblindness that the NPCs in the movie all act as though Alex was the same white male he traditionally was. 

There was a lot going on here: gender-swapping, race-swapping, turning a hetero romantic movie into a same-sex one.  But was the studio doing it for shock value?  Was this happening in a near-future reality where the fans of the original b&w movie and general audiences would embrace or not notice the changes? 

Edited Sunday at 11:44 AM by shrewd.buddha

[Chicago Redshirt]

13 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

There was a lot going on here: gender-swapping, race-swapping, turning a hetero romantic movie into a same-sex one.  But was the studio doing it for shock value?  Was this happening in a near-future reality where the fans of the original b&w movie and general audiences would embrace or not notice the changes? 

I take it on face value that the owner of the movie was desperate to try anything to revive their catalogue but felt like a big-time actor needed to be cast, and just gravitated to the first big-time actor who was open to it, who was Issa's character, and didn't care too much about the race/gender swap. I know people complained about this one being too long, but I'd think that would merit some level of discussion beyond "eh, why not?" 

I think if the technology existed, enough people would be curious enough to see, say, Viola Davis or Angela Bassett playing the Rick role in Casablanca that the studio would do it in a heartbeat. Especially if they could get away with "Doing this role will only take 3 hours' pay for the star, and some technicians' time."

 Speaking of, I don't know why they had to rent an actual soundstage, if, as it seems, all the filming was done virtually. All they had to do was have some place to house the computers and other tech to make that happen.

[Kel Varnsen]

At first I thought this was an interesting concept. But then once the guy spilled the coffee and everyone was frozen and Brandy was trapped I realized it was the stupid "brain downloaded into a computer" plotlines that Black Mirror has done so many times and keeps coming back to. And that I am so tired of. Between that and how long it was I didn't really care for it.