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Hollywoodland Our rating: Rate this movie   Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: R (for language, some violence, and sexual content) Genre: Drama, Mystery Theater release: September 08, 2006 by Miramax Films Directed by: Allen Coulter Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes Cast: Adrien Brody (Louis Simo), Diane Lane (Toni Mannix), Ben Affleck (George Reeves), Bob Hoskins (Edgar Mannix), Lois Smith (Helen Bessolo), Robin Tunney (Leonore Lemmon), Jeffrey DeMunn (Art Weissman), Joe Spano (Howard Strickling) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

In the end, it wasn't Kryptonite, but rather a speeding bullet that killed Superman. Or actor George Reeves anyway, though from watching Hollwoodland, you get the sense that kids back in 1959 regarded the two men as one and the same. Their invincible hero, the Man of Steel, tragically taken away from them, felled by a gunshot to the head in an act of suicide.

Or was it? What about the other two bullet holes in his bedroom floor, the bruises on his arm, and other inconclusive bits of evidence? Was it the open and shut case that L.A.'s investigators concluded it to be, or is there more to the story?

Reeves' acting career never amounted to very much. After a hopeful start alongside Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, he was relegated to bit parts and Saturday matinees well into his late thirties. Which might partly explain why he eventually won the lead role in the popular '50s television show The Adventures of Superman—or perhaps it was also because he was sleeping with the wife of one of Hollywood's most powerful studio executives. Either way, it would prove to be his last acting job before his untimely death at 45.

Ben Affleck plays 'Superman' star George Reeves

Thus, a straightforward biography doesn't have much story to tell. But screenwriter Paul Bernbaum and director Allen Coulter (making his cinematic debut after working on various HBO dramas) recognize that the circumstances surrounding Reeves' death ironically makes his life more interesting. What would drive a seemingly successful and happy actor to suicide? And if it were murder instead, then who would have reason to kill the man known as Superman?

To examine these angles, Hollywoodland is part bio-pic and part mystery. Stylistically, it's similar to other California crime noirs like Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. The storytelling is reminiscent of Citizen Kane or Reversal of Fortune, recounting a central character's final days while speculating on what may have happened.

The audience's guide for the investigation is Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a fictional detective operating out of a seedy apartment with help from a young assistant (in more ways than one). Simo is recently divorced, trying in his own way to make the most of his time with his son, and trying to make ends meet with the usual cheating spouse cases that small-time detectives usually take. But then a former colleague from the police force points him to Helen Bessolo (Lois Smith), the mother of Reeves who doesn't believe that her son would take his own life. It isn't long before Simo begins to think she may have a point.

Adrien Brody as private detective Louis Simo, who investigates Reeves' death

The film then alternates to Reeves' story, played by Ben Affleck as a struggling actor desperately trying to network and build publicity at a Hollywood party. He ends up going home with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), an older woman and the wife of Edgar Mannix (Bob Hoskins), the general manager of MGM with seemingly gangster related ties. The marriage exists in name only, giving Toni enough space to make Reeves a part of her life—much like Norma Desmond did with Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard.

The affair allows Reeves to live comfortably and leads to the Superman phase of his career. The problem is that he wants to avoid being typecast, pursuing other kinds of roles and opportunities. His dissatisfaction with his life begins to create a wedge with Toni, especially after he starts looking for work outside of Hollywood—and the marital relationship that she can't provide.

Bob Hoskins as MGM studio exec Eddie Mannix

Which brings us to the main reason to see Hollywoodland. Affleck has attached himself to many a bad film over the years, but anyone who's written him off as untalented will have to reconsider their opinion after this nomination-worthy performance. Interesting how everything plays together almost perfectly for Affleck's portrayal—his boyish charm, his hunky physique, and even his reputation as a poseur. With all that, he brings a surprising level of world-weariness and vulnerability to the part. We really come to feel for this guy, struggling with the mantle of role model that's been thrust upon him, and fearful of some of the unrealistic expectations that children place on their beloved superhero.

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