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HollywoodLand [2006]


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The Darkened Screen
Review date: 2008-05-25 Rating: 8 out of 10

I found this Hollywood semi-biopic absorbing from beginning to end. It recalled that bygone era when entering a movie theatre in Southern California was more than making a stop at the outrageously priced popcorn concession on the way into a tacky multiplex cubicle. Movie theatres themselves, whether they purported to be dimly-lit frescoed Egyptian temples or dusk-enshrouded palaces with glittering stars implanted in the ceilings, provided magical settings for the flickering images that transported audiences wherever the movie producers chose to take them. The Film Stars who twinkled in the Hollywood firmament had the glamor of distance, and the Big Studio Moghuls had teams of publicity men to make sure that the dark side of the silver screen was never even glimpsed. Of course, too often real life intruded into reel life and the illusive screen was ruptured by lurid headlines.

"Hollywoodland," ably acted by Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, and Bob Hoskins, as well as a solid supporting cast, captures the period at the end of the Big Studio era admirably. From the faux elegance of the nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the dusty vaults of Western Costume, the movie recalls both sides of the Hollywood dream. Adrien Brody plays the seedy wannabe private eye with a sensitivity that makes us identify with him, even though we see through his pretensions. Ben Affleck parallels Brody's character in his portrayal of the wannabe Star of the first magnitude, whose image is occluded by his small-screen Superman persona; Diane Lane is stylish as the aging Hollywood matron who becomes the woman scorned; and Bob Hoskins is positively sinister in the role of the studio exec.

The film offers no pat answers to the mystery of whether George Reeves killed himself or was murdered, buy it offers some tantalizing possibilities that the audience will ponder after the screen has gone dark.

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Reviews


Slow , but sure .
Review date: 2008-03-03 Rating: 6 out of 10

A film that is a little bit slow in places , but is worth a watch nontheless . Ben Affleck is well cast as George Reeves , and is ably supported by Adrien Brody as Louis Simo . A film that will leave you wondering what really happened in this real life mystery .

Very good.Affleck's best.
Review date: 2008-02-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

This one's for fans of LA Confidential,Lonely Hearts,Chinatown,The Last Tycoon,The Day Of The Locust,James Ellroy's novels and Robert Mitchum's turn as Philip Marlowe in Farewell My Lovely.

A great sense of place and time.Good acting all round,but especially by Diane Lane,who,if she were male,would be as revered as Robert De Niro - although her range is far greater than his,or at least far greater than his has been in the last 10 years.Nicely directed and shot,with an intelligent script that both makes you think and engages you emotionally.

At it's heart is the mystery of Reeves death but,although that's what keeps the plot moving, the film is as much a study of Affleck and Brody's characters.My only criticism is that,because the writer tries to fit so much in, the viewer is left with the impression that Reeves work in film was little more than a part in Gone With The Wind and the '50's Superman tv series with nothing in between except a Saturday morning serial about Sir Galahad.In actual fact he was in a lot of films,albeit mainly in minor roles.Having said that,it certainly didn't mar the film and I'd recommend this to any fans of the above mentioned films,anyone interested in Hollywood's history or anyone who enjoys an intelligent,emotionally engaging film.See it,if you can.

SLOWBURNER BUT WORTH IT
Review date: 2008-01-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

I love this era, and list L.A. confidential & Chinatown amongst my favourite films. A Murder mystery with a difference, the films main purpose is to highlight how Brody's and Afflecks characters careers have failed miserably, with major consequences in their personal lives.
One finds redemption one does not. Good acting all round, especially from Affleck, who shows what a good actor he can be, with the right vehicle and director.

Who Really Cares What Happened to George Reeves?
Review date: 2007-08-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

"Typecasting had stalled a career that started with a bang in 1939 with Gone With the Wind. On June 16th, 1959, Reeves, 45, left the party he and his fiancee, Leonore Lemmon, were throwing at his Hollywood home, went upstairs and bang -- he's dead." Peter Travers


'Hollywoodland' is a film that succeeds up to a point. In some ways the real-life actor George Reeves, played superbly by Ben Affleck, who wants to have a star's career but detours into a series television to star in "Adventures of Superman" is akin to the film career of Ben Affleck, When Reeves body is found in the home he shared with his fiancee, Robin Tunney, the police call it suicide, but several people have their own ideas. Private detective Louis Simo, played by Adrien Brody, newly single after splitting with both his agency and his wife, Laurie, is one of them. Simo is hired by Reeves' mother and starts looking into who might have had wanted to murder him. Detective Simo finds that it's at Ciro's that he meets an older but still attractive woman, Toni Mannix , Diane Lane, the wife of MGM's powerful vice president Eddie Mannix, Bob Hoskins. They begin an affair, with Toni buying him expensive presents, including a watch with a 'Mad About the Boy' inscription taken from "Sunset Boulevard." Reeves cares about Toni, but he does not want to be a kept man. He's also uncertain about being cast as Superman. When the show becomes an unexpected success, he is uncertain that this is what he wants.

Ben Affleck is very effective as a man desperate and full of himself. He captures the insecurities of an actor who is not being taken seriously. This combination of vulnerability and charm, is one of his best performances. Diane Lane is wonderful. She is a rare actress who can bring a flirtatious characteristic to her role, without going over the top. Toni Mannix is confident and irresistible, but Diane Lane understands that the other side is the fear of losing it, and she shows us flashes of Toni's desperation. Adrien Brody is very good, but he seems to be walking through the film. Bob Hoskins is superb as the man who is so secure in himself that he can bring his Japanese girlfriend to dinner with his wife and her boyfriend. The other side of Hollywood is shown in his role, the ruthless and sinister side that stops at nothing to achieve his goals.

"Hollywoodland" offers three scenarios to choose from, but the mystery becomes less rather than more interesting as the film goes on. The question critic Edmund Wilson famously asked in his attack on detective stories -- "Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?" -- works just as well with George Reeves in the title." Kenneth Turin

This is a film that I had some reservations about. However, I found myself becoming engrossed in the film and the search for the murderer. A scene with George Reeves watching the premiere of "Here To Eternity" with the audience laughing at his role is particularly revealing. Ben Affleck is able to convey the hurt and humility with only his facial expressions. That is but one of the scenes that are memorable.

Recommended. prisrob 08-04-07

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Comments (4) | Most recent comment: Aug 4, 2007 4:59 PM PDT


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Ben Affleck
Diane Lane
Adrien Brody

Creators:
Adrien Brody (Primary Contributor)
Diane Lane (Primary Contributor)

Recording label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
EAN: 8717418119959
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-03-19
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 121 minutes
Language: English (Unknown)

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