Hollywoodland

As someone who has spent a number of years preparing the definitive biography of actor George Reeves, I approached this film with great trepidation. I had previously turned down several offers for the film rights to my own book because I felt it unlikely that those projects would result in a film truthful to the essence of the man I had come to know so well. All I can say is that the makers of "Hollywoodland" came as close as is humanly possible in the real world of movie-making to achieving exactly what I would have hoped for -- an examination of George Reeves's life and death that is true to the times he lived in, true to the kind of man I found him to be, and as true as possible to the most likely scenarios that have been projected to explain his death. While this is not a biography nor a documentary, and while adhering to each and every fact of Reeves's life would have resulted in a film exactly as long as his life, the artists here have done a powerful and affecting job of telling Reeves's story, and have framed it in a fictional setting that illuminates rather than obscures the truth.

In any event, in any life, there is what happened and then there is the truth, and the two may not always equally serve our understanding of the event or life in question. It is true that "Hollywoodland" takes occasional liberties with specific facts, in no less way than Shakespeare took liberties with the real life facts of Hamlet or Julius Caesar. But as Alfred Hitchcock said, drama is life with the dull bits left out. What matters is not whether a costume is the right shade of blue or whether there's really a gas station at the intersection of Sunset and Benedict Canyon. What matters is whether the essence of a true story has been faithfully told. And "Hollywoodland" does a superb job of portraying that essence, who George Reeves was, what his world was like, and what impact he had on those who knew him and those who only knew of him. Allen Coulter, the director, has done a splendid job capturing the era and has paid enormous attention both to period detail and to the details of the lives of the real-life characters. Only Reeves's fans (and not even many of them) will notice the pinkie ring on Ben Affleck's finger or the widow's peak in his hairline or the exotic Alvis auto he owns, yet these are all completely authentic to the actual Reeves. More importantly, Coulter has done an exemplary job of making Reeves into a human being, one whose dreams we ache for almost as much as he does in the story.

Adrien Brody, as the fictional detective whose story provides the audience a window into Reeves's life, is solid and manages to bring a little charisma to the comparative low-life he plays. Diane Lane is superb as Reeves's lover, the sexually hungry but aging Toni Mannix. And Ben Affleck does certainly his best dramatic work ever as George Reeves. In makeup, and with his own matching cleft chin, Affleck sometimes looks astonishing like the real Reeves. But more importantly, he captures the haunted quality of the actor on a treadmill to oblivion, as well as the immense charm for which the real Reeves is widely remembered in Hollywood. Although the script does not give any of the actors the kind of deeply meaty scenes that win Oscars, some of the hardest work to do is for an actor to excel in scenes that don't require fireworks. Affleck in particular does so in this film, and I think it does him credit. He is reported to have researched the role intensely, and it shows. The performances of Larry Cedar, Bob Hoskins, and Lois Smith also stand out especially distinctively.

The cinematography is stunning, with the frequent flashbacks clearly distinguishable from the "present day" scenes without the distinction being glaring or even obvious. And the musical score is elegant and very evocative of the time.

It is perhaps inevitable that die-hard Superman fans, for whom George Reeves is not so much a human being as he is a sort of superhero himself, will find things to carp and cavil about in this film. As a researcher with over thirty years of in-depth study of Reeves's life, I can split hairs over details pretty easily myself. And I suspect, too, that some of the complaints will be about the depiction of things that are actually true, but which don't show Reeves in a worshipful light. All I can say is that I have spent my adult life studying, admiring, and trying to understand the man whose story this film tells, and I think George Reeves would be touched and proud of the care these filmmakers have taken. I highly recommend "Hollywoodland."

When I first began hearing about this movie, the premise, as I understood it, was that George Reeves'apparent suicide was in fact a murder, heading into the movie with that in mind, I was a little surprised, although not terribly disappointed to find that this movie is less about a murder mystery and more about man trying to find his path to stardom. What makes this movie ultimately so frustrating is that it wastes time and energy trying to give you a parallel storyline with Adrien Brody, as the self-important amoral private eye, who is trying to fix his life, this was an unnecessary and at times tedious plot line and as good as Brody is the better storyline and performance belong to Affleck. With some better editing and a more focused view of what this story should be this would have been an outstanding movie. Ultimately it seems that rather than take a chance on the performances generating buzz, the producers decided to sell a mystery that never fully materialized, as opposed to a layered and interesting character piece about a man not many people knew about.

"Hollywoodland" has probably brought George Reeves more fame and celebrity than even he ever dreamed of - imagine being the subject of a feature film when you were most famous for being the TV Superman.

Had he lived into his seventies, he might have been around for the renaissance of the old shows and stars due to the nostalgia of the maturing baby boomers. But he'd probably rather have it this way.

Reeves started out in small roles such as one of the Tarlton twins in "Gone with the Wind," and before going into the service himself, nabbed some good parts while the big stars were fighting the war.

Like many young actors back then, after the war, his career had lost momentum. He ultimately landed the role of Superman and during that time appeared in "From Here to Eternity."

The film shows people recognizing him as Superman during the Hollywood premiere of "From Here to Eternity," and as a result of the audience laughter, his role was severely cut. Untrue. However, many people state that Reeves' role in the final product was no smaller than it was originally.

Unfortunately, in the '50s, once you were associated with a television role, it was a death knell. When Jack Larson (Jimmy Olson in Superman) went into an audition after the series, the director said to the others in the room: "Please don't embarrass this man. He knows I can't cast him," or words to that effect.

The actors today are more fortunate as the business has changed. It would be a steep upward climb if Reeves was to shake that Superman image.

At the time of his death, he was forming his own production company and planned to go to New York. He also wanted to direct.

"Hollywoodland" stars Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Adrien Brody, Robin Tunney, Bob Hoskins and Lois Smith. It's the story of slimy detective Louis Simo (Brody) - a man who sells info to Confidential magazine and takes on low-rent clients - and his investigation of George Reeves' death, considered a suicide.

During a small gathering in his home, Reeves went upstairs to his bedroom and allegedly shot himself. But many people believe he was murdered. Simo plays out different scenarios in his head with different suspects as he searches for evidence and motives.

There were several people in Reeves' life who had motives: Reeves' long-time girlfriend Toni Mannix, wife of studio exec Eddie Mannix, a man with an unsavory past known by MGM as "The Fixer"; Mannix himself, who was suspected of being involved in the death of Jean Harlow's husband Paul Bern and later on of faking a car accident in which Toni was killed; and Leonore Lemmon, George's young girlfriend toward the end of his life, who expected to marry George.

In the midst of his investigation, Simo has problems with a seedy client as well as difficulties relating with his young son.

This is a beautifully produced film with some marvelous performances, particularly from Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins, and Ben Affleck. Affleck's resemblance to Reeves in some scenes is scary - particularly as Clark Kent! Affleck even had Reeves' vocal rhythm. An excellent performance, and hopefully one that will lead to some better films and roles for him.

As Toni, Lane is superb - sexy, tough, and completely possessive of George; Bob Hoskins is great as the bombastic, thug-like Eddie Mannix. Robin Tunney makes a gorgeous Leonore, a cheap low-life.

Adrien Brody's Louis Simo is probably more cerebral than most detectives of this type, but he's still good. The problem is not so much in his performance as it is that his storyline is intrusive.

The scenes filming "The Adventures of Superman" are fantastic, and I for one wanted to see more. "Hollywoodland" captures the reality of making a television show back then and evokes the atmosphere of Hollywood in the '50s beautifully.

However, it moved slowly, and there was too much of Brody's problems and too little of George's relationships. While it was an interesting film and very worthwhile, it just didn't hang together as one would have hoped.

Reeves' friend, Jack Larson (portrayed in the film by Joseph Adam), who was an adviser on the film, read several versions of the script, and met with the actors.

His biggest concern was that the film not put Toni Mannix, with whom he was very close, in a bad light. Larson was very, very impressed by Ben Affleck's intelligence and personality and thought all of the acting was top-notch.

One thing he was sure of - Reeves never had any intention of marrying Leonore Lemmon. "George lived big," Larson said, "but it was Toni's money." He adds, "No one wants to listen to me...He committed suicide."

Just when I had given up on ever seeing a "Hollywood Star Filled" film along comes a masterful film about the not so famous star of the 1950's television phenomenon, "Superman". I saw the film this evening and Mr. Brody, the director, writer and Ms. Lane were all in attendance but that did not seem to matter much. The film is a real work of artistry. I cannot tell you what a delight is is to go see a film that I have heard nothing about and then sit in the theater totally and thoroughly engaged in a serious film that manages to convince the audience that the art of film making is alive and well. If I had known that Ben Affleck was in the film I would have passed. Its a good thing I did not. He and Diane Lane re-introduce the idea of stardom to film making. They were fantastic. The script was fantastic, the period accuracy enthralling and the long forgotten story riveting. Hollywoodland should prove to be the next "Capote". Congratulations! A 21st Century Noir treat.

I was ten years old when I learned the shocking news of the death of George Reeves, the television actor whom I idolized as Superman. I appreciated how "Hollywoodland" made this moment impressionable on the youngster Evan "Scout" Simo, the son of the investigator Louis Simo pursuing leads in the Reeves case. For both me and little Scout, the death of Reeves was an early realization that appearances are not always the same as reality in the world of illusion and Hollywood celebrity.

Under the skillful direction of Allen Coulter, "Hollywoodland" captures that moment in film history when the studio system was in decline and about to give way to a new and more independent period of film-making. Perhaps from his previous credits in directing episodes for HBO's "Six Feet Under" series, Coulter was able to draw upon great location environments for a quintessential sense of Los Angeles. Much credit should go as well to designer Julie Weiss for her colorful costumes (especially men's short-sleeved shirts) that evoked the era of the 1950s in L.A.

The performances were uniformly outstanding. Ben Affleck brings out both the charm and the raw vulnerability of George Reeves, an actor of limited ability, struggling and eventually succumbing to the pressures of fame. Affleck was the spitting image of Reeves, especially in the Clark Kent-style, black-framed "owl" glasses. But the real strength of his performance was in his sensitivity as his character made choices that took him into deeper and deeper emotional waters, culminating in tragedy. In the film's parallel story, Adrien Body was a standout as Louis Simo, the private eye seeking his own fame in trying to uncover the mysterious circumstances and motivation of Reeves' tragic death. The luminous Diane Lane was superb in the role of Toni Mannix, the wife of a powerful studio boss and the lover of Reeves. I found Lane's performance in "Hollywoodland" even better than her Academy-award nominated role in "Unfaithful."

The film conveyed a moody atmosphere that begs comparison with "Chinatown," another film that recreates the essence of old Los Angeles. While not as brilliant stylistically as Roman Polanski's masterpiece, "Hollywoodland" nonetheless was a compelling and indeed riveting drama. Although the mystery of the tragic death of George Reeves was not resolved in this film, it nonetheless provided depth and complexity to the characters, as well as a lurid illustration of the pressures and the accompanying risks involved in struggling to succeed in the film industry.