Running time: 126 minutes
Starring: Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins, Robin Tunney
Rating 5 out of 10
The mysterious death of actor George Reeves, TV's Superman, has remained a topic of speculation ever since his apparent gun-inflicted suicide in 1959. It's also the subject of the unfocussed Hollywoodland. Director Allan Coulter, whose long TV resume includes The Sopranos, Sex And The City and X-Files, is clearly less assured with the longer format in this, his film directing debut. Hollywoodland aspires to be a convoluted thriller that centres on Reeves (Ben Affleck) and those closest too him as it explores the various theories arising from his death. However, it's all too vague investigations and suppositions leave you none the wiser and, more damningly, uninterested.
Screenwriter Paul Bernbaum has chosen to examine the case through the eyes of the tenacious and unscrupulous private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody). Simo is hired by Reeves' estranged mother (Lois Smith) who can't conceive of her successful son killing himself and suspects foul play. Simo, portrayed tautly by the always effective Brody, makes for one of the film's more absorbing characters, but the protracted dwelling on his personal life only serves as a distraction. Indeed, in yet another example of Coulter and Bernbaum's indecision, Hollywoodland seems uncertain of whether in fact it's Simo or Reeves' story it is really telling.
This divisiveness is established from the beginning which cuts between the discovery of Reeves' body and Simo, operating out of his squalid apartment, as he deals with a jealous husband convinced his wife is cheating on him. From the sight of Reeves' naked body lying in his blood-splattered bedroom, the story flashes back to when the struggling young Reeves meets the older Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), wife of MGM's production head Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). Toni's adulterous husband indulges her relationship with Reeves, who she showers with gifts, including a house. She also helps his career, getting him an audition for the TV role of the Superman.
Alternating between Reeves' rollercoaster career and Simo's investigations, Hollywoodland takes a leisurely and meandering route to its inconclusive ending. As Simo uncovers more and conflicting information, he is forced to reevaluate his theory on Reeves' death, with each new hypothesis reenacted in flashback to give it its requisite verisimilitude.
Possessed of a stylized reality, Hollywoodland tries too hard. It lacks the relaxed assurity of Brody's acting, which itself contrasts starkly with Affleck's self-conscious rigidity. With a fascinating story and strong cast, a mystery as great as that of Reeves' death is why Hollywoodland is so disappointing.
Kevin Murphy
Screenwriter Paul Bernbaum has chosen to examine the case through the eyes of the tenacious and unscrupulous private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody). Simo is hired by Reeves' estranged mother (Lois Smith) who can't conceive of her successful son killing himself and suspects foul play. Simo, portrayed tautly by the always effective Brody, makes for one of the film's more absorbing characters, but the protracted dwelling on his personal life only serves as a distraction. Indeed, in yet another example of Coulter and Bernbaum's indecision, Hollywoodland seems uncertain of whether in fact it's Simo or Reeves' story it is really telling.
This divisiveness is established from the beginning which cuts between the discovery of Reeves' body and Simo, operating out of his squalid apartment, as he deals with a jealous husband convinced his wife is cheating on him. From the sight of Reeves' naked body lying in his blood-splattered bedroom, the story flashes back to when the struggling young Reeves meets the older Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), wife of MGM's production head Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). Toni's adulterous husband indulges her relationship with Reeves, who she showers with gifts, including a house. She also helps his career, getting him an audition for the TV role of the Superman.
Alternating between Reeves' rollercoaster career and Simo's investigations, Hollywoodland takes a leisurely and meandering route to its inconclusive ending. As Simo uncovers more and conflicting information, he is forced to reevaluate his theory on Reeves' death, with each new hypothesis reenacted in flashback to give it its requisite verisimilitude.
Possessed of a stylized reality, Hollywoodland tries too hard. It lacks the relaxed assurity of Brody's acting, which itself contrasts starkly with Affleck's self-conscious rigidity. With a fascinating story and strong cast, a mystery as great as that of Reeves' death is why Hollywoodland is so disappointing.
Kevin Murphy
