Hollywoodland

Questions, questions, and more questions. Hollywoodland seems to be about whether or not Superman actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck) was murdered, but it turns into a film about whether or not Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) will be murdered. Simo, a private investigator, tries to figure out whether or not actor George Reeves killed himself or if he was actually murdered. This based-on-true-events film did its best to bring me to the brink of confusion, and ultimately ended without a conclusion. The problem with this film is that it sets up the notion that Reeves didn't really commit suicide, but it ultimately fails to deliver the presumed outcome.

The plot aside, the film is filled with great performances, namely from Ben Affleck who plays the troubled Reeves himself. Affleck plays the character with a melancholy persona. Diane Lane also delivers a riveting performance as Toni Mannix, the woman with whom Reeves engages in an illicit affair. The two have great chemistry onscreen. Unfortunately, the premise of the film falls flat. B.