Hollywoodland

Starring: Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Adrien Brody, Bob Hoskins, Robin Tunney,
Directed by: Allen Coulter
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Crime
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A Hollywood detective (Adrien Brody) investigates the death of TV Superman actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck), while the Hollywood police are content to call his death a suicide. As he gets further into the investigation, he begins to suspect there is more to the story than originally seems.

Review:

Tim: I actually enjoyed this movie. The film is about one of Hollywood's biggest mysteries- did George Reeves kill himself, or was he murdered? There is something so morbidly appealing about a true-life murder mystery with charismatic personalities at the center of it. Hollywoodland seizes on this and takes advantage of our natural fascination with mysteries of this kind. The movie keeps you fairly engaged. I found myself truly interested in what was going to happen next. This is a testament to the film, because I could have easily been thoroughly disinterested (see The Black Dahlia).

This isn't a great movie, but it isn't too bad, either. The film is really helped by some unlikely performances. You have to give Ben Affleck credit for a great performance. I typically am not a huge fan of him, but it is impossible not to appreciate his work here. He was great as George Reeves, as his performance made both suicide and murder seem possible. Adrien Brody did a good job as well. He easily annoys me in movies, but I found his performance here to be impressive. Diane Lane is always good, and Bob Hoskins adds in a chilling performance. The entire cast work well together.

What I most appreciated about this movie is that although based on a true story, it is first and foremost a murder mystery. The film tells its story, but it never forgets that it needs to be an entertaining movie, regardless of whether the story is true or not. Intelligently, the movie allows its "based on a true story" to add to the film, instead of putting all the emphasis on that point.

Hollywoodland is a good movie that isn't quite great. For one, it feels far longer than its 2 hour runtime. While it is entertaining, it didn't really connect too powerfully on an emotional level. I was interested in the story of George Reeves, but I never really cared about it. This would have made the movie great. As is, this is a good movie that at least will be able to entertain its audience.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Black Dahlia, Superman, Good Will Hunting, The Pianist