"Hollywoodland" (2006) - Drama
Rating: R
Starring: Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Adrien Brody
Rating: 2 stars
If it wasn't for the great acting job of all the actors involved (no surprise especially with the three leading ones), I would've given this movie less than two stars. The film focus on the death of the first man to play Superman (played by Ben Affleck), actor George Reeves (interesting coincidence that his last name resembles another more famous actor who played a more immortal version of the hero: the late and sorely missed Christopher Reeve). The circumstances surrounding Reeves death - which was believed to be a suicide - point into another direction. Adrien Brody plays the investigator that doesn't swallow the suicide story, and Diane Lane is excellent as Reeves' obsessed, "Lady-Macbethian" lover. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? But the story falls very short of intriguing the spectator. You start from point "A" hoping for an exciting journey to "B", filled with pieces of the puzzle that hopefully you will put together as Brody continues his investigation, and at the end you realize that the train never left the station and you are still stationary on "A". I failed to see the point in the whole thing and was left with a feeling of having wasted my time. You get an insight into the sad life of Reeves who was very much a victim of things beyond his control (but who also lacked the kind of talent that for example, enabled Christopher Reeve to soar above the imprisonment of type-casting), but that's about it. There are other, numerous brilliant movies with these three excellent actors so I recommend you do not waste your time with this one.
"Hollywoodland" (2006) - Drama