Me and Orson Welles (12A)
Or should that just be ‘Orson Welles?’
Where? At Empire, Tower Park
Plot?
A look through young actor Richard (Efron) perspective of working with the great Orson Welles on his 1937 stage adaptation of Julius Caesar.
Thoughts?
Mentioning Orson Welles in a conversation you get either a reaction of admiration or a squinty eyed haze of confusion. Depending on who you’re talking to.
The younger crowd for example, may have heard of Welles masterpiece, Citizen Kane, but there’s next to no chance they’ve actually seen it.
So getting Zac Efron, High School Musical’s clean faced star and instigator of swooning young girls everywhere, to star in a film about Welles is odd indeed.
He may be pushed up on centre stage here, and get the most screen time, but Efron is well and truly upstaged by Christain McKay as Welles.
Booming, manic and with eyes that twinkle with a near terrifying enthusiasm and drive McKay keeps your interest through the films quiet periods.
And with slack storytelling these moments are numerous, with the film very much one you need to relax into like a hot bath, director Linkater effortlessly creating a period setting much like he did in Dazed and Confused, his ode to the 70’s.
Despite characters and the performances pushing the film along Efron is a little weak in striking up convincing chemistry with Claire Danes, and does little to persuade you he can really do true dramatic acting yet.
But being in this film shows he is willing to push himself, and the next few films he takes on should be watched with interest.
The other supporting players all work hard to make an impression, with James Tupper savouring his role of a slimy but somehow lovable womaniser alongside Leo Bill as Norman Lloyd, with both managing to strike up some of the films best lines.
The fact this took a year to find a distributor is saddening. It might not win over huge audiences but it will fascinate a lucky few. And if it persuades some of those young bloods to explore Welles back catalogue then this is a film that should be applauded.
Verdict? Linkater has made an unconventional story work against the odds through strong performances and a subtle script. (4/5)
The trailer…
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