Hollywoodland review

When I was a kid, Superman was one of the most popular TV shows for kids. As far as we were concerned, George Reeves was Superman. So when I learned a few years later that he had committed suicide because he despondent over being typecast as Superman, it was hard to take. Decades later, further investigation revealed that Reeves was involved in some sordid affairs with some pretty powerful people in Hollywood and may have been murdered. Hollywoodland takes a speculative look at what may have happened to the real George Reeves. This is director Allen Coulter's first theatrical feature. He has directed Sopranos episodes and other TV shows. Screenwriter Paul Bernbaum and several other key production people come from TV too.

George Reeves (Ben Affleck) was a handsome actor probably best known for his debut in the 1939 classic Gone With The Wind. World War II interrupted his acting career and when he came out of the service, nobody wanted him anymore. Against his better judgement, he auditioned for the Superman TV series and got the role. He knew that he would have trouble getting any role other than Superman. The film is told mostly in flashbacks and starts with a gunshot killing Reeves in his bedroom. Reeves had an affair with former Ziegfeld girl Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), wife of MGM general manager Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins) so the LAPD chose not to investigate Reeves' death. Reeves' mother (Lois Smith) hired private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) to look further into her son's death. Simo is the one major fictional character in the film.

As film executives go, Eddie Mannix was not the creative type. He was the type to fix problems if an MGM star got into trouble. He's not someone to mess with. He allowed his wife Toni to have an affair with Reeves so he could be free to have his own affairs. When Reeves decided to break things off with Toni and take up with his new fiancee Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), maybe he pissed off the wrong people. Then we find out that he ended his engagement to Leonore. He doesn't appear to be despondent as he's starting his own production company. So did George Reeves kill himself? Maybe but we see through Simo's eyes various scenarios where he could have been murdered or maybe he did commit suicide. The film allows the viewer to draw his own conclusion. Either Eddie, Toni or Leonore could have done it. Though Reeves' mother is paid off by MGM, Simo continues to investigate and runs afoul of Eddie Mannix and his boys.

The strength of Hollywoodland is its portrayal of Los Angeles of 1959 and the primary characters place in that setting. Production designer Leslie McDonald (The Shaggy Dog) creates a film noir Los Angeles though the film was mostly shot in Toronto. Veteran Canadian TV cinematographer Johnathan Freeman assists in the pastel look they are after. Composer Marcelo Zarvos (The Door In The Floor) adds to the film noir feel with vintage jazz and rock 'n' roll. Affleck, Hoskins & Lane all give strong performances. You wouldn't think Affleck could be Reeves but he does better than expected. The only problem with the film is they decided to delve into Louis Simo's personal life and that detracts from the basic story. This sub-plot seems like it was tacked on because Adrien Brody is an Oscar winner and they needed to beef up his role to justify hiring him. I didn't think it was necessary and they should have cut that stuff. Hollywoodland is a strong film debut for Allen Coulter and his crew of TV veterans. I'm still not sure if George Reeves was murdered but I enjoyed the film's look at the seedy side of Hollywood.