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Hollywoodland

A scathing portrayal of a glorified industry

By PAUL BABIN | September 7, 2006

2.5 Stars

The fruits of Southern California taste sour in Hollywoodland, a tragic account of TV’s first Superman, George Reeves. The movie begins after Reeves’s mysterious death, juxtaposing a private investigator’s search for murder motives with flashbacks of the actor’s early career. Director Allen Coulter rejects the romanticized nostalgia of Hollywood’s studio era in favor of a damning depiction of a system steeped in hypocrisy. Decay seeps in through the glitz. Unfortunately, Coulter doesn’t cast as well as he directs. Ben Affleck’s boyish charm can’t evoke the quiet agony of a man in crisis. Diane Lane, as Reeves’s long-time mistress, Toni Mannix, captures the fleeting nature of the Hollywood frills. “I have seven good years,” she tells George. “Then my ass drops like a duffle bag.” Hollywoodland may fail as a star vehicle for Affleck, but its scathing portrayal of a glorified industry rings true in our age of rampant nostalgia. At its best, it recalls the post-mortem malaise of Chinatown.

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Hollywoodland's official Web site:http://www.hollywoodlandmovie.com/

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