Hollywoodland is a uniquely compelling exploration of fame and identity inspired by one of Hollywood's most infamous real-life mysteries. The film is the feature directorial debut for Allen Coulter (Emmy and DGA Award nominee for his work on The Sopranos and Sex and the City). June 16 1959. The glamour of Tinseltown permanently fades for actor George Reeves the heroic Man of Steel on TV's Adventures of Superman as the actor dies in his Hollywood Hills home. Felled by a single gunshot wound Reeves (portrayed in Hollywoodland by Academy Award winner Ben Affleck) leaves behind a fianc e - aspiring starlet Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney) - and millions of fans who are shocked by his death. But it is his grieving mother Helen Bessolo (Lois Smith) who will not let the questionable circumstances surrounding his demise go unaddressed. Helen seeks justice or at least answers. The Los Angeles Police Department closes the case but Helen hires - for $50 a day - private detective Louis Simo (Academy Award winner Adrien Brody). Simo soon ascertains that the torrid affair Reeves had with Toni Mannix (Academy Award nominee Diane Lane) the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix (Academy Award nominee Bob Hoskins) might hold the key to the truth. But truth and justice are not so easily found in Hollywood. Simo pursues dangerous and elusive leads in both high and low places and in trying to turn up the heat risks getting burned. The detective also uncovers unexpected connections to his own life as the case turns more personal and he learns more about Reeves himself. Behind the icon was a complex man who gave his life to Hollywood in more ways than one.System Requirements:Run Time: 127 minutesFormat: DVD HD Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 025195000208 Manufacturer No: 62100030
The fact-based mystery of Hollywoodland takes place in 1959, when the death of Adventures of Superman TV star George Reeves cast a pall over the waning days of golden-age Hollywood. As written by Paul Bernbaum, this intriguing whodunit effectively evokes the tainted atmosphere that surrounded Reeves' death (officially ruled a suicide but never conclusively solved), and speculates on circumstances to suggest that Reeves may have been murdered. In combining the melancholy course of Reeves' career with the investigation of a down-and-out private detective into the possible causes of Reeves' death, the film evolves into an engrossing study of parallels between lives on either side of the Hollywood dream. Building upon a distinguished career in TV including episodes of HBO's The Sopranos, Rome and Six Feet Under, director Allen Coulter finds a satisfying balance between the tragic overtones of the Reeves case and the time-honored elements of the gumshoe genre, with Adrien Brody doing fine work as private eye Louis Simo, a fictional composite character who is our conduit to the desperate yearnings of Reeves' final months. In a critically acclaimed performance, Ben Affleck plays Reeves in moody flashbacks, caught between Superman stardom and financial dependence on his lover Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the somewhat predatory wife of Hollywood "fixer" and MGM honcho Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), whose mob connections suggest foul play as Simo's investigation progresses. Reeves' subsequent lover (played by Robin Tunney) may also be culpable, and as Simo's own personal life unravels, his empathy for Reeves takes on added significance. In presenting its mystery as a set of plausible scenarios, Hollywoodland holds interest as a mystery that's refreshingly compassionate toward the fate of its characters. Warts and all, they're likable dreamers in a town where dreams don't always come true. --Jeff Shannon
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