moonspinner55
Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland co-wrote and co-directed this exceedingly thin dramatization of the last two years of Errol Flynn's life, from 1957 to 1959. Flynn, notorious ladies' man and faded matinée idol, picks up a pretty chorus girl on the movie lot under the pretense that she audition for him privately--unaware that she is just 15. The girl's mother is skeptical of their ensuing relationship, but eventually consents under the promise that Flynn use his connections to help further her daughter's show business career. As the underage Beverly Aadland, baby-faced Dakota Fanning doesn't have the knowing sexuality needed for the role, but Kevin Kline as Flynn is marvelous. Though essentially too old to play Flynn, who died at the age of 50, Kline nevertheless jumps into the part with verve; he has Flynn's gentlemanly cadence down right and he's in terrific shape. Susan Sarandon as Beverly's mother (and the twosome's 'chaperone' in public) is also fine, though she doesn't have much to work with. At 90 minutes, the film feels lengthy, with a colorless epilogue after Flynn has died and a final coda which isn't as heart-rending as the filmmakers probably intended. ** from ****
leonblackwood
Review: I quite enjoyed this movie because it delves into a world of the unknown, when Errol Flynn's popularity was on a decline because of the various rumours that surrounded this flamboyant actor. The only problem that I found with the film was Dakota Fanning, who didn't seem to show any emotion from the beginning to end. Susan Sarandon and Kevin Kline were great but the script was quite glum and one toned. The movie is based on the relationship between Errol Flynn (Kevin Kline) and Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning), who meet at Warner Brothers studios while Beverly is auditioning for a role in a film. Beverly, whose only 15 but uses fake documents to say that she is 17, is swept of her feet by the dashing Errol Flynn and they soon begin a relationship and fall deeply in love with each other. When Errol finds out about her age from his driver, who went to the same school as Beverly, he strikes a deal with her mum Florence Aadland (Susan Sarandon) by promising her a career in Hollywood if she stays by Beverly's side, we're ever they go. Because Beverly is a minor, Florence isn't too happy when she finds out about there sexual relationship but she's adamant about her daughter making it in Hollywood after her dancing career is cut short because of a car accident which took her leg. When Errol Flynn's health starts to decline after years of drug and alcohol abuse, he dictates a will to Beverly which guarantees her wealth when Flynn passes away but as there isn't a signature on the will, it becomes void and Beverly and Florence are left with nothing. As Beverly lied about her age, she is put in a institute, away from her mother because she helped her with faking her age. After spending some time in jail, Florence writes a book which explains what happened between Errol Flynn and her daughter but Beverly isn't interested in fame and money anymore and she is drove to the edge of insanity because of the media attention which tarnishes her name. I found the story quite interesting and I liked Kevin Kline as Errol Flynn, which he played in Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr. but the storyline was just about a brief period in Flynn's life and I was left feeling that I wanted to know more about the man who lived life on the edge. Susan Sarandon was obviously living her life through her daughter and she even sacrificed her marriage to be with Beverly while she travelling with Flynn, which proved that she was craving the fame that she thought was taken from her due to the car accident. The chemistry between Florence and Flynn was great but Beverly just seemed to be following Flynn's lead most of the time. Anyway, it's a watchable movie, mainly because of Flynn and Florence but it lacked true emotion from Dakota, who played a major role in this project. Watchable!Round-Up: Kevin Kline, 68, is known for picking his roles with much thought and he's always been highly rated since his first role in Sophie's Choice and the Big Chill, which I thought was a great film with some top actors. He then became a household name with films like Silverado, Cry Freedom, A Fish Called Wanda, January Man, I Love You To Death, Grand Canyon, Soapdish, Chaplin, Consenting Adults, Dave, French Kiss, In & Out, Fierce Creatures, the terrible Wild Wild West, Orange County, The Pink Panther and the Conspirator starring James McCavoy. He recently starred in Darling Companion with Diane Keaton, Last Vegas, My Old Lady and the upcoming Ricki and the Flash with Meryl Streep and he won an academy award for his outrageous role in A Fish Called Wanda in 1989. I've always thought that he was an under rated actor who has always put in top performances and is able to cover many genres. His performance in this movie was brilliant but the script was a bit bland and unemotional in parts. This movie was directed by Richard Glatzer, 63, who brought you the highly acclaimed, Still Alice with Julianne Moore and a few small movies called Grief, the Fluffer and Echo Park L.A. He sadly passed away, March of this year, due to complications of als so Still Alice was his last movie in the directing chair, which he also wrote. Julianne Moore won an Oscar for her role in Still Alice along with a Golden Globe and a BAFTA so she owes a lot to Richard, who didn't receive any awards for the movie before he passed away. Anyway, I personally thought that this movie could have done with another actress in the lead alongside Kline and it needed to be a bit longer so the audience could get some depth about the characters. I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/biography/romance movies starring Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, Dakota Fanning, Ric Reitz and Matt Kane. 4/10
Edgar Soberon Torchia
Not worst than any other biographical motion picture produced by commercial American cinema, and certainly not up to the highest achievements in biographical movies made by this industry. But it is done not only with affection but with respect, even to that "moral majority" that causes so much despair and sadness all over the world, with its stern point of view that changes whenever the wind blows. And above it all the film is graced with very good performances by Kevin Kline as Errol Flynn, Dakota Fanning as Beverly Aadland and especially Susan Sarandon, splendidly restrained as Florence Aadland, a role that Shelley Winters would have turned into a thunderous bitch. I liked it and enjoyed it very much maybe because I like every now and then a bit of television, or maybe because I have always liked Errol Flynn, an actor that was so incredulous of his own talent, when as a matter of fact he was a wonderful performer of action and gallantry expressions.
