Not As Clever As It Thinks It Is!

Rating: 6/10 (31 January 2015)

A good film, a decent attempt at trying to make a 'Man In Search Of His Own Identity' movie like Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni etc did in the 60s and 70s. It does it through the painful struggles to stage a play on Broadway allied to the agonies and ego of a washed up, former superhero actor trying to go legit. The medium of the last chance for a fading thespian has been done before, but not for a while. Remember Bette Davis and Ann Baxter going head to head in the early 50s? What makes this film stand out is the artifice of the film (until the very end)apparently being shot in one long continuous take! It works brilliantly, but overpowers the film. The script is good in parts, but is repetitive and fairly mundane with little depth. Actorly tantrums and one-upmanship do not make for a two hour movie these days. The acting is good, but bound by the limits of the story, eg Edward Norton's character is real on stage but all an act off it - and we are supposed to care! The film takes pot shots at Hollywood - how brave! - but apart from repeatedly going on about cartoon superhero movies and celebrity there is little here but a moan that falls short of a rant. The 'right on' bits about the impact of social media seem arch and merely included for the movie to look relevant to today. But this film is trying to do something worthy, and everyone, except the scriptwriters, are doing their best. It is worth seeing but too high hopes and the hype will leave you flat.