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.

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.

It's 1959 and George Reeves (Ben Affleck) best known as TV Superman is found shot dead in a house full of people. The police rules it a suicide. Questionable private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is hired by Helen Bessolo to investigate the death of her son Reeves. As he digs into the case, the show flashes back to Reeves' time in Hollywood starting as a nobody trying to get his foot in the door. He has an affair with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane) who he doesn't know at first that she is actually the wife of a MGM studio head Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins).

The movie is a little slow and a little long relishing in the noirish hard-boiled style. Allen Coulter is a TV director and that may be why the movie moves more slowly. It doesn't quite have the urgency. Adrien Brody's slow brooding mannerisms only accentuate the pacing. I like the era and the style. I could do with a quicker pace. Ben Affleck fits this character better than his other nice guy roles. He's a little dark and a little complicated. It signals a change in Affleck's career path for the better. The style is there but the pacing is lacking.

I recently was lucky enough to get to go to a screening of this film followed by a Q&A with director Allen Coulter, stars Diane Lane and Adrien Brody; each one of which did a fantastic job in their most recent performances. Coulter's first foray into film is a very successful one. His abilities with the camera from his experience like The Sopranos is clear throughout and is very strong from the opening shot of LA as it swoops into the house as police enter the crime scene that is George Reeves home. The cinematography by Jonathan Freeman ("Rescue Me", "Taken") is very strong with a great contrast in shadows and a subtle yet noticeable difference between the two times shown in the film. Coulter also uses music and sound differences to establish the Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) and George Reeves (Ben Affleck) time lines as separated. The acting is all around amazing, Affleck and Brody take their characters and live them, both amazing. Affleck has a few moments where the Reeves voice seems to lapse slightly but it's nearly unnoticeable. Both near perfect performances and as for the rest of the cast, there is not a poor performance to be found in this film. Expect a SAG ensemble nomination here. The overall style of the film is very interesting. Coulter describes the film as a "film noir in the daytime" and a "film about a modern man." The story is beautifully told with a nicely flowing back and forth between George Reeves life up until his death and 'independent investigator' Simo's search for the truth about that fateful night. Overall the film gets a 9/10 from me because it was simply nearly flawless, I left the theater very happy for having seen it because I'm willing to predict that this film will get some mentions come award time.

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.