The year is 2008. Four days of hell in Mumbai saw Pakistani terrorists murder over 170 people and wound more than 300 more with bombs and guns in twelve locations across the city.
As is often the case with historical art -- that is, art that depicts history -- Hotel Mumbai dramatizes these events but selects a single location as its primary story. Here, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel becomes a sort of microcosm of the terrorist event, depicting the horrific violence, paranoid fear, and tragic outcome of the events that occurred a decade ago. It's not all a tragedy, though, as the film carefully works to show that cruelty and hatred cannot truly win the day, cultivating our sympathies for the victims and survivors and demonstrating the amazing affinity for life of the Indians caught in this act of senseless evil.
The luxurious hotel itself is brought gloriously to life on screen, and as waiter Arjun (Dev Patel) comes in to work, he is reminded by his boss that "Guest is God." The first third of the film contains lots of buildup, and we're introduced to a few other characters, both staff and guests at the hotel, including an heiress (Nazanin Boniadi), her American husband (Armie Hammer), and their baby. We see snapshots of the other attacks, and we begin to feel the encroaching threat of the terrorists, who we also follow as they obey the voice of their fanatical leader, the Bull, whom we never see. By the time the killers actually enter the hotel, the tension is so thick you could choke on it.
For some reason, the local police force is unprepared and unequipped to handle the threat, and so the denizens of the Taj must protect themselves until soldiers arrive from New Delhi. As you might imagine, a lot of people die. The film's middle section is akin to a horror movie, in which the terrorists shoot indiscriminately and plow their way through the halls and stairs. Then, when guests and staff have taken shelter in rooms, closets, and relatively hidden spots, the terrorists use captured staff to make calls to rooms, urging people to come out and that the danger is past. It's a sick, insidious twist of the knife to watch the scared people emerge only to be shot dead. You begin to wonder how anyone survived the attack at all.
It's all terrifically thrilling and emotionally wracking, as the best dramatizations of real-life tragedies are. More than once I was reminded of United 93 because of this film's structure and thematic concerns. People attempt to be heroes and are cut down mercilessly; people accuse each other and though they might be bigoted assholes, we understand their suspicions. The film refuses to lionize its characters, showing us the vulnerable, complex folks we all are, despite what the superhero movies tell us. It hurts to watch, and it takes time to process afterward.
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