The Butler Brothers’ Thanks for the Room draws out the humanity of a pandemic-stricken city and finds quiet poetry in a job no one wanted but someone had to do. Byron (Kosa Akaraiwe), recently laid off due to a global viral outbreak, is desperate to support his family in maintaining visitation rights with his daughter. With very few options, he takes a job as an overnight courier at a quarantine hotel for the unhoused. His new boss, Tony (Nick Biskupek), warns him that the job has strict rules—no personal contact with guests or entering their rooms. Instead, guests leave envelopes outside their doors containing money and lists of what they need, ranging from cigarettes and fast food to prescription meds and street drugs. Byron then navigates a nearly deserted city in the dead of night to aid the guests as their personal shopper.
His nightly runs become increasingly unpredictable and dangerous. While fulfilling these unusual requests, Byron deals with hostile street dealers and violent confrontations, including one at a gas station where he steps in to protect a clerk from an abusive customer, whom he ultimately knocks out, stashes in his car trunk, and drives home. Despite being told to keep his distance, Byron begins to build fragile connections with some of the residents, including a woman named Dawn (Murph Hickey), who is hearing impaired.
But Byron’s streak of risky goodwill comes at a cost. One night, he is mugged while out making deliveries. His money, goods, and dignity are all stolen, and he misses his shift. Byron is pushed to the brink, risking it all because of his conscience.
“His nightly runs become increasingly unpredictable and dangerous.”
Thanks for the Room is the story of a guy trying to find some order in his life amid a global pandemic. Sadly, we’ve all been there. Like Byron, you gotta do what you gotta do. The best way to approach a story is to pull back the camera a little bit, as The Butler Brothers use the quarantine hotel to show what life was like for people living in lockdown.
The contrast here is that in this hotel, the relationships with “guests” are purely transactional. The warning of no contact is vital, as Byron learns that once you get to know people as unique individuals, you start to care and want to go above and beyond. Even outside the building, Byron learns about those on the street who don’t have nest eggs and need work or side hustles. In other words, we’re not just statistics; we’re human beings.
I love the indie vibe that The Butler Brothers give off in the film. It’s well-produced and directed, but avoids the slick, inauthentic feel of a typical Hollywood production. Carrying the film is Kosa Akaraiwe as Byron, and he gives a very laid-back, authentic performance as a man who does well in inopportune moments.
Thanks for the Room is a late-night meditation on survival, dignity, and the danger of compassion in a world built on transactional relationships. It reminds us that even during lockdown, connection finds a way—and sometimes, all it takes is a knock on the door, a bag of chips, and several boxes of condoms.
"…We're not just statistics; we're human beings."
