I adore film noir. And I've been wanting to see this since I first heard about it. A murder mystery set in Hollywood's golden age? Sign me up!
The story of the death of George Reeves, TV's Superman, (and one of the first actors to fall into the so-called "Superman Curse") "Hollywoodland" looks into the strange circumstances surrounding his death. Was it suicide, accident or murder? "Hollywoodland" sets up the questions, but doesn't give you the answers. I don't think it can.
The look of the film is superb -- you really get the feel of 1950s Hollywood. The costumes are stellar. And the acting -- not a bad performance in the bunch.
Now, I know its popular to hate Ben Affleck. But I can't. (He was the bomb in "Phantoms," yo!) I have felt sorry for him. He went from the promise of greatness in "Good Will Hunting" to a celebrity-shaped caricature -- a "South Park" joke clinging to JLo's oversized ass. It's a parallel to George Reeves, and its uncanny how he slips into the Reeves role perfectly. I hope its the start of a whole new career for him.
A couple of things:
I've seen a lot of reviews saying how Diane Lane isn't afraid to show her age in this movie. She's only 41, people! That's makeup! They're making her look older!
I had trouble caring about the secondary story in "Hollywoodland" -- the washed up private detective (Adrian Brody) whose life and family are falling apart. I kept wanting them to get back to George and Toni, who were far more interesting. It was nice to see Molly Parker (one of my favorites on "Deadwood") as his ex, though -- she is the queen of the arched eyebrow and the pointed glance.
I won't say this is one you need to see in the theater -- it will pack almost as much punch on DVD -- but don't miss it.
2 comments:
It was weird -- I was into the detective's struggles with his career, but the second his wife and kid appeared I kind of mentally tuned out. I have a lot of trouble with kid actors -- unless they're execeptional, they can break the illusion for me.
And I'm still torn on Reeves -- he either committed suicide (which is most likely) or was killed by someone working for Eddie Mannix. I keep tripping up on the fiance saying "And then you'll hear a shot," like she knew it was coming.
I'm still hoping to see this movie. To tell you the truth, Ben Affleck's Commentary on the Chasing Amy DVD won me over as a fan for life. I will never trash him because of that commentary track. Well that, and he WAS the bomb in Phantoms, yo!
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