Hollywood today is rocked by scandal on a seemingly weekly basis. Jude Law cheats on starlet Sienna Miller with the nanny. Jen and Brad split, to the outrage and distress of the nation. Brangelina keep adopting babies and make one of their own. Michael Jackson enjoys the company of little boys, and quickie marriages are the norm. It is a place where truth and lies live side by side in a pretense of harmony.
Then there is the Hollywood of 1959. On the night of June 16, Tinseltown was shocked by the sudden death of actor George Reeves, the man who portrayed the heroic man of steel on TV's "The Adventures of Superman." It is one of Hollywood's most infamous unsolved mysteries: Did he really commit suicide, or was he murdered by a speeding bullet? As the questions of the crime remain unanswered, how could Hollywood, in true Hollywood form, resist transforming the intriguing plot into a new movie? It couldn't.
The result is the directorial debut for Allen Coulter (better known for working on "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City") and a somewhat lengthy period piece that justly revisits the crime while still managing to engage audiences.
Ben Affleck ("Good Will Hunting") fills the tights of Superman, playing a less built, flabbier star who wears padding under his suit. Reeves wanted to play different roles and was feeling the constraints of his child-hero persona when, likely suffering from depression, he died from a single gunshot wound, leaving behind a bitter fiancée, socialite Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney, TV's "Prison Break"). When Los Angeles police call the case a suicide, Reeves' mother, Helen Bessolo (Lois Smith, "Sweet Land"), won't have it. She hires degenerate private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody, "The Pianist") to find answers.
The further Simo delves into the mystery, the more dangerous and suspicious the crime appears. The key may lie with Reeves' long-term, public affair with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane, "Unfaithful"). The problem? Toni is the wife of tough MGM studio exec Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins, "Beyond the Sea"), who won't have anyone bothering his wife while she grieves for the loss of Reeves. But Simo goes on stirring up plenty of press and talk, to the point where Eddie threateningly suggests, "Be smart. Let it go." Simo, surrounded by thugs, replies coolly, "Your mother's snatch, she won't let me."
Brody steals the show. His character is a low-life, crummy, sleazy yet somehow respectable man, and it's hard to completely hate him in the end. Although, on the one hand, he swindles clients out of $50 a day for his shoddy detective work, Simo's better side tries ineffectually to be a good father to his boy Evan (Zach Mills). Simo deals with his own hardships with a sense of forced control, and as he learns of the struggles Reeves bore before his death, the investigation turns to a more personal level.
A second screen gem is Lane. In most of her other film roles, Lane plays an attractive older woman with a style of girlish laughter and love of life, channeling her characters' internal emotions with grace. With "Hollywoodland," all of the above is true. Lane's character is mature, with a greater depth and complexity about her. She faces losing her boy-toy Superman to a much younger woman, all while effortlessly emanating grace and beauty.
For a period piece, the movie does very well. All of the acting, including Affleck's, is top-notch. The film dives into each character and conflict successfully, not only showing the sorrow felt at Reeves' death but also exploring each character's own dark side and personality.
Where "Hollywoodland" falters is in its length and sometimes difficult to follow plot lines. At 2 hours and 9 minutes, the movie takes too long for the action to develop, and, once it finally does, the result is fairly disappointing. Despite this, the story is altogether provoking and has an allure that is not to be missed.
Rating: 4 out of 5
