Rating: R
Starring:
Adrien Brody as Louis Simo
Diane Lane as Toni Mannix
Ben Affleck as George Reeves
Bob Hoskins as Eddie Mannix
Lois Smith as Helen Bessolo
Robin Tunney as Leonore Lemmon
Larry Cedar as Chester
Jeffrey DeMunn as Art Weissman
Brad William Henke as Russ Taylor
Dash Mihok as Sergeant Jack Paterson
Molly Parker as Laurie Simo
Caroline Dhavernas as Kit Holliday
Kathleen Robertson as Carol Van Ronkel
Joe Spano as Howard Strickling
Gareth Williams as Del
Special Features:
Commentary by Director Allen Coulter
Deleted Scenes
“Recreating Old Hollywood” featurette
“Behind the Headlines” featurette
“Hollywood Then and Now” featurette
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.85:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish and French Language
Spanish and French Subtitles
Running Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“Based on the true story of Hollywood’s most notorious unsolved mystery, ‘Hollywoodland’ is a tale of glamour, scandal, and corruption in 1950s Los Angeles. When George Reeves (Ben Affleck), star of TV’s ‘Adventures Of Superman,’ is found dead in his home, millions of fans are shocked by the circumstances of his death. The police and studio bosses want the case closed as a suicide, but rumors linger. Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private investigator, picks up the trail and begins to piece together the actor’s last, tension-filled days. Who pulled the trigger? Was it the seductive yet scheming fiancée, the spurned lover (Diane Lane), the enraged husband (Bob Hoskins), or was it Reeves himself?”
“Hollywoodland” is rated R for language, some violence and sexual content.
The Movie:
Like something inspired by the programming on E! or Court TV, “Hollywoodland” is as much a biodrama about the life and career of George Reeves as it is a straightforward police procedural investigating his mysterious death.
The latter centers around a smart-mouthed private detective named Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), trying to get over a bitter divorce while juggling a number of cases, none of which he takes very seriously. He finds a veritable gravy train in George Reeves’ mother, who doesn’t believe that her son could have killed himself, so Simo convinces her that he can learn the truth. Because he left the local police under controversy, Simo finds himself at odds with his former friends on the force, instead turning to the power of the press to leak false information.
As we follow Simo’s investigation, the film flashes back to George Reeves’ rise as an actor, beginning when he first meets Diane Lane’s Toni Mannix, the wife of a rich and powerful studio executive, who will play a large part in Reeves’ life. Keeping Reeves on a short leash, Mannix never steps in to try to help George’s failing career when his role as Superman makes it hard for him to be taken seriously in other roles.
Reeves’ story has always been a fascinating one, and “Hollywoodland” does a good job delving into his personal life and the behind the scenes of the “Superman” show, making it resonate like Paul Schrader’s underrated “Autofocus,” the Bob Crane bio-drama that showed the dark secrets buried in his past. Not having done any research into Reeves’ life, it’s hard to judge the film on how much of it is truthful and how much is creative license, but director Allen Coulter, who cut his teeth on various HBO shows, does a respectable job recreating the era and making the story believable. The film’s insights into the ’50s Hollywood fame machine make for an interesting contrast to how things have and haven’t changed since then. Still, it’s not nearly as strong as movies like “L.A. Confidential” or “Mulholland Falls” at showing the Hollywood corruption, as the investigation tends to lose focus by going off the beaten track.
Coulter has assembled a fine cast for this dialogue-heavy drama, but few of them seem to be taking many risks by breaking away from their typical roles. The one exception is Ben Affleck, who–and you may want to sit down for this–is easily the best part of the movie with his spot-on portrayal of Reeves. Because of Affleck, the flashback scenes are the best part of the movie, as they ably recreate the making of the old Superman show and the phenomenon that surrounded it, including a tense moment when Reeves faces someone challenging Superman’s invulnerability.
Though Affleck was never typecast like Reeves, he must have felt some sort of kinship due to his own career problems, and it allows him to bring another dimension to the character, which helps the viewer empathize with both of them and revives a lot of faith in Affleck’s credibility as a dramatic actor.
The way the movie cuts back and forth between the two stories makes it obvious how much more screen presence Affleck has compared to Adrien Brody, who seems to be playing Simo almost exactly like his character in “King Kong.” Simo comes across like a bit of an *******, so it’s hard to sympathize as he tries to reconnect with his son, who’s become disillusioned after learning of Reeves’ suicide. The movie’s attempt to humanize Simo and give him further motivation to solve the Reeves case ends up shifting the focus too far away from it.
Diane Lane’s performance as an adulterous wife is fairly different from the one she played in “Unfaithful,” but she’s better on screen with Affleck than his scenes with Robin Tunney, who takes things far too over-the-top as the gold-digging girlfriend who tried picking up the pieces after Reeves’ split with Mannix. Bob Hoskins is great as the head of MGM, not much of a stretch for an actor who has played so many memorable thugs in the past, but there are also some nice supporting parts by lesser-known actors like Caroline Dhavernas and Joe Spano.
By the end, the movie has jumped around so much that it’s not clear how it’s possible for Simo to have figured anything out, instead showing a number of different ways that Reeves might have died without committing to any particular one. Ultimately, it just leaves the viewer with more questions than solid answers and ends the movie on a frustrating note.
The Extras:
There’s a decent offering of bonus features included on this DVD. Kicking things off is your standard Commentary by Director Allen Coulter. Unfortunately none of the cast participated in the commentary along with him. There are a few Deleted Scenes also included. Several of them feature more of Simo and his former police associate who briefly helps him investigate Reeve’s death. The “Recreating Old Hollywood” featurette shows how they created the sets, the costumes, and look of old Hollywood. “Behind the Headlines” talks about the making of the movie, the casting, etc. Finally, the “Hollywood Then and Now” featurette delves into the real world characters that were shown in the movie. Everyone from Mannix to Reeves is discussed.
The Bottom Line:
Fans of George Reeves’ run as “TV’s Superman” should be intrigued by the way “Hollywoodland” shares intimate details of Reeves’ life and tragic death with a convincing performance by Ben Affleck. Unfortunately, the investigation, which tries to solve the mystery behind Reeves’ death, falls short of delivering, because it gets too bogged down in the private life of Brody’s unsympathetic character. Not a bad first movie for Coulter, but it really could have been so much better.
