“Mr. Reeves?”
The death of actor George Reeves has always been the fodder for speculation. Ben Affleck started the Oscar buzz rolling with his fine portrayal of television’s man of steel.
It’s 1959, Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is a private detective on hard times with a clientele of one. Hollywood actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck) has just died in what is being called a suicide. The children of America are distraught since Reeves was the hero of their small screens as the man from Krypton, Superman. Reeves’ mother Helen Bessolo (Lois Smith) hires Simo because she thinks that her son was murdered and did not commit suicide.
George Reeves and Toni Mannix
Throughout the film, we flashback to the earlier 1950s to see Reeves more in his prime. He charms Toni Mannix (Diane Lane) and soon they become lovers – even though she’s married to MGM head honcho Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). It seems that the Mannixs have an open marriage with Eddie having a mistress of his own, so Reeves becomes Toni’s “mister.” He hopes that being close to a studio head will get him the jolt that his career needs. It doesn’t exactly work out that way, but one fateful day George auditions for a new show called The Adventures of Superman and the rest is history.
The youth of America are smitten with their new superhero and Reeves rises to stardom in their eyes, but the plum roles do not materialize as he imagines. As time goes on, Reeves decides to dump Toni for the younger Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney). Simo continues to investigate as we, the audience, continue to see Reeves’ past.
George Reeves’ suicide has been the fodder for Hollywood gossip or scandal shows since its occurrence. I really don’t know about the circumstances describing Reeves’ death, but the filmmakers say that they’ve used Reeves’ real story, for the most part, for his side of the story. Louis Simo is a fictional creation fashioned out of several real life individuals.
Affleck got the Oscar buzz going early for his portrayal of Reeves. I guess it died down since he was not given the nod in either the actor or supporting role category. That’s really a shame since he really does an excellent job. That’s probably strange coming from me since I’m not an Affleck fan.
I really found him doing a fabulous job in this picture though. What was strange was that I bought him as Reeves (or a portrayal of Reeves, I really don’t think he looks like Reeves) and sympathized with the character. When he opens his mouth in the documentaries, it was “yuck, it’s Ben Affleck” since he sounds much different in the film.
He had an earpiece that had snatches of real George Reeves dialogue that he listened to so that he would get down Reeves’ style of speaking. Reeves was really a tragic figure and seemingly had the whole world on the plate but was really a troubled man. He found that the role that found him fame was a blessing as well as a curse.
Louis Simo and his latest client
Diane Lane is also very good as Toni Maddix (who I thought was fictional and actually turned out to be the real deal). Adrien Brody is also very good in the film. His character is on a similar path as Reeves’ life (both men having big dreams and unable to accept their position in life). As he investigates, he sees how Reeves’ story ends and decides to go a separate way. The film has no easy answers so don’t expect to come away with a concrete explanation as to whether Reeves did commit suicide or was murdered. The case is left open to interpretation. There are three different theories (including the suicide) shown, but none confirmed as the “truth.”
Hollywoodland is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. A fullscreen release is available separately. Special features include a commentary by director Allen Coulter. There is also a trio of featurettes. The first is the 6 minute “Re-Creating Old Hollywood” and is about the look and setting of the film. It has interviews with producer Glenn Williamson, director Allen Coulter, Bob Hoskins, columnist James R. Bacon, makeup department head Linda Dowds, production designer Leslie McDonald, executive producer J. Miles Dale, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, costume designer Julie Weiss, and Adrien Brody.
Next is the 7 minute “Behind the Headlines” and it goes into more of Reeves’ story. It adds interviews with screenwriter Paul Bernbaum, Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen from the Adventures of Superman), actor/historian Jim Beaver, and Robin Tunney. The last one is the 7 minute “Hollywood Then and Now” which talks about how the town and studio system has changed.
It adds interviews with film historian/author Rudy Behlmer and Hollywood historian Alan J. Gansberg. Finally, there are 5 minutes of deleted scenes. One section shows Reeves funeral service and the other two scenes deal with Simo’s relationship with a young police officer on the case.
To many 1950s kids, Reeves was truly the man of steel
Hollywoodland examines a time gone by as well as the fate of an actor who was beloved by many kids in the 1950s. It weaves its spell, but doesn’t try and pronounce the mystery solved. Instead, it gives the viewer several scenarios and allows them to decide which one seems right to them. I found the performances spectacular and highly recommend the film to both lovers of old Hollywood and murder mysteries.
Hollywoodland is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a March 19th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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