Hollywoodland

"Hollywoodland" intercuts a biopic of the last eight years in the life of actor George Reeves (Ben Affleck) with an investigation by scummy private eye Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) into the circumstances of Reeves' death. (He allegedly shot himself in his upstairs bedroom while his friends were having a party downstairs.) Though a bit draggy in spots and afflicted with the overall brown look all too common in films set in the recent past, "Hollywoodland" not only flawlessly evokes the 1950's visually but tells a compelling neo-noir tale about ambition, greed, sex and the lure of stardom. It's a film for those who liked "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential" but I thought it was better than either of those because it wasn't quite as relentlessly cynical and despairing. Bob Hoskins is superb as MGM second-in-command Eddie Mannix (explaining how he fits into this tale is impossible without involving a spoiler), Adrien Brody proves that there IS life for him after "The Pianist," and Ben Affleck - well, nobody had to direct him in how to play a star on the skids these days!