InjunNose
Allen Coulter's "Hollywoodland" is a fine film which people have invented all kinds of silly reasons to dislike. Chief among them, of course, is that the mystery of George Reeves's death remains unresolved. (Never mind that the particulars of the "Adventures of Superman" star's demise are still being debated as hotly in real life as they are in the movie: audiences crave a tidy ending above all else.) But this film is not a murder mystery in the generally accepted sense of the term; nor is it a conventional period piece. It's a movie with an overtly ethical message and a dark, tragic tone to match, like a Raymond Chandler or Ross Macdonald novel. Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins give powerful, impressive performances, and even the smaller roles are perfectly cast: Jeffrey DeMunn is especially memorable as Reeves's gentle, kindhearted agent. If you enjoy "Hollywoodland" as much as I do, you'll immediately want to see it again. If you balk after the first half-hour and turn your attention to a video game, well...I think you're missing out on a deeply worthwhile film. Just one reviewer's opinion.
ppilf
To me, this movie is among the best movies of the past decade. I absolutely love historical American biopic film noir set in the 1950's, especially set in Tinsel town. And this is the best film I've seen in that genre. Also, as a kid I was absolutely nuts about the original TV series "Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves. Once, when we lived in Houston, Texas, my parents were expecting company, and my mother was busy vacuuming the living room when the Superman show came on. I came running in from outside right on schedule, grabbed a cookie, turned on the TV, turned up the volume, and began to watch as I always religiously did. As my mother passed in front of the TV vacuuming, she switched off the TV and told me to go back outside and play because she had to clean up for the guests. Well, I'll be brief and simply say that I went into full-blown convulsions, complete with screaming, falling to the floor, kicking, and choking on my cookie. My mother was dumbfounded by my reaction; she stood motionless staring at me with the vacuum whirring in her hand. She had never seen me act like that before, or since. She realized that I was neurotically serious about this TV show, and so she immediately turned it back on. I instantly recovered and continued watching like a hypnotized zombie, and she returned to her vacuuming. If you knew my mom you'd know how rare this was because she almost never reversed a parental command to her kids, nor did she flinch from spanking us if we were overly stubborn. Getting back to this film, Ben Affleck was brilliant in his portrayal of George Reeves. His was the most difficult role because the public knows Reeves. Affleck's mannerisms, body movements, facial expressions, and dialog were perfect Reeves to the tee, even though his voice is a bit different. That kind of research and acting ability separates the pros from the rookies. Affleck is a consummate professional, a great actor. Adrien Brody, also a consummate professional, and one of my favorites, was absolutely superb in the role of detective Louis Simo. I don't think anyone could have given a better performance as a young 1950's real-life LA private eye, complete with reality life problems. Brody made this picture a success as the driving force at the helm; he was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Diane Lane was also great as Toni Mannix. I consider the casting for this film a work of genius, because Robin Tunney, Jeff DeMunn, Bob Hoskins, Neil Crone, Caroline Dhavernas, and Joe Spano all gave superb performances, as did all the actors in this film. But I think the real heroes of this great film are director Allen Coulter, producer Glenn Williamson, writers Howard Korder and Paul Bernbaum, and the production professionals. Pre-production research and accuracy are extremely important in a biopic film. This film's story and character accuracy, cinematography, depiction of 1950's Los Angeles, background music, artistry, sound and film editing, are absolutely amazing work by some of the greatest film talents of our time. I particularly liked the film's beautiful story art and human reflection on Reeve's life and personal tragedies, and Simo's deepening personal emotions as he investigates Reeve's death, finding some parallels between Reeve's life and his own. This movie is among my most important art possessions. I first saw it in a theater when it was released in 2006. I was divorced at the time, and I went alone to a crowded city theater. I quietly slipped into the dark theater with my popcorn and soda, because I really wanted to see this film. Somehow I knew I'd love it, and I did. This film does not disappoint. When the DVD came out I immediately purchased one. Whether I'm facing a life tragedy, or I'm depressed, had a bad day, or simply want to enjoy a beautiful movie, I can slip a DVD like this into the player and be transferred to another place and time, entertained, and cured of my burdens all at once. I can't begin to express my appreciation for the people who come together and create great works like this movie, nor can I express my awe in their amazing talents. Biopic films like this are grossly under-appreciated by the public. These movies don't rake in the vast numbers of 12 to 18 year-olds who make up the large demographic of movie goers, thus don't rake in huge box office revenues like the dumb action-hero, sci-fi CGI, and horror thrillers do. I guess most people would also be bored reading Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, preferring a Hobbit fantasy novel instead. They'd toss Einstein's book aside, never appreciating the great accomplishment in human intellect that they just trashed. This is why I so appreciate the people who produce these movies. They give the world the fruits of their amazing talents, with little monetary reward. They leave us great works of art and history for posterity. Thankfully, Hollywoodland eventually did make a small profit after DVD rentals and sales, which restores some of my confidence in the American public.
