| Overall Grade: |
B- |
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| Story: |
C+ |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
C+ |
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| Visuals: |
B- |
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Falling Short of its Ammbition
by Jersey Joe (movies profile)
Nov 5, 2007
10
of
10 people found this review helpful
"Hollywoodland" is an effort at film noir with a personal voyage thrown in. It's a good try that doesn't work as well as it could have.
The story centers around the death of George Reeves. Did he commit suicide or was he murdered? There's our mystery and it's a compelling one.
While Reeves' death was a tragedy, the film also examines the tragedy that was Reeves' life. He aspired to be a great actor, a leading man. He is unable to appreciate the career he does have and that inability makes him a tragic person. To add to his misery, he enters into a relationship with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of MGM executive Edgar Mannix. Reeves becomes a kept man.
We see Reeves reluctantly accept the role of Superman on television. He feels the role is beneath him and that it will only hinder his efforts to be taken seriously as an actor. This feeling plays out as Reeves lands a role in "From Here to Eternity" and a test audience laughs when Reeves is on screen because they recognize him as television's Superman.
We also see the story of Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) who is a seedy headline chasing private investigator. He starts to work for Reeves' mother who does not beleive her son committed suicide. Simo is originally looking for a paycheck but starts to raise some very valid questions about the Reeves case.
Simo's personal life is a mess. He is divorced and has trouble dealing with his young son. He works out of a motel room with a young woman as his asistant/lover. As he begins to understand George Reeves better, he begins to understand himself better.
Ben Affleck plays Reeves well. As a good looking actor who is not taken as seriously as he would like, Affleck seems to bring a lot of himself to the role. Only his attempt to duplicate Reeves actual voice detracts from his performance. Diane Lane is great as Toni Mannix. Early, she is vivacious and young and in love. Later, she is older and feeling cast aside by Reeves. She becomes bitter.
There is a frustration in the film as Simo runs into a stone wall in his efforts to get at the truth. Reeves' death remains a mystery as the only real loser is the truth and the audience. Everyone else moves on. I think the movie spent too much time in too many different places. THe flashbacks on Reeves' life are great, but they eat up time that could be better spent with the Simo character and the effect the case is having on him. The film is very watchable, there are no cheap surprises and most of the performances work very well. |
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