Hollywoodland (2006)

Summary: Following the suicide of TV's Superman, George Reeves (Ben Affleck), private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is encouraged to look into the incident as a possible murder. Although he initially seeks to pick up a little money and publicity, Simo becomes engrossed in the mystery. His story plays out against the relationship between Reeves and Toni (Diane Lane), wife of MGM studio head Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins).

Let's start with the obvious. Recently, Affleck picked up Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. Did he deserve it? As Em and I put it, it's a career best performance. Of course, we are talking about Ben Affleck's career. Yeah, sometimes he's so good that you forget that he's acting (something that's never happened to me while watching him before), but sometimes that slips and he's Ben Affleck again. There is a little bit, completely silent, in combination with a little spoken bit, that's breaking my heart nearly a week later, but I think that's more about Reeves that anything Affleck said or did. He's good, but he's not great. I wouldn't toss him another Oscar tomorrow.

As for Lane, who's name is also currently floating around with Oscar's, I'm going to have to say . . . really? For this? I rather enjoy Lane on most occasions -- she's quiet and powerful and sexy and sad and all around good. But here, well, here. Most of the time, she's wonderful: playful and sad in just the right combination. Every once and a while, however, she overacts. Not good.

Hoskins does his Hoskins thing, which is being a consistently good actor.

Oh, Brody. I think I am starting to . . . like you less. I know. I know. I don't know quite how it happened either. I still think you are beautiful, and your delivery is superb, and sometimes your eyes grow to three times their size and glisten just so . . . but, I don't know. Simo just seemed so ahistoric. And I never thought I'd say that about a character you played. Even so, a lot of your character's dialogue sounded so modern that it threw me right out of the movie. Of course, you didn't write the script, so I suppose I should pin the blame on . . .

Paul Bernbaum. Dude, I know you're a television writer, but do some research! Pay someone else to do it for you! I don't care as long as it gets done. And, while we are here, that's your conclusion? Seriously? I can understand it, intellectually. It works best with the evidence that we have and is certainly a possibility. But as a viewer? Left me hanging. Didn't entirely appreciate that. Your script was mostly smooth sailing before that.

Props to director Allen Coulter, who also made the jump to the big screen with this picture. Between you and your DP, Jonathan Freeman, I rather enjoyed what I saw.

Have you ever heard that Ella Fitzgerald classic, "You Won't Be Satisfied"? Although I do not recall it playing during the movie, it is the song that started playing in my head afterwards, and I continue to associate it with the show. It tells the long and short of the movie -- kind of dissatisfing but at least it's pleasingly melancholy. B-