In Richard Linklater's (Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly) drama, High School Musical's Zac Efron stars as young actor, Richard, who dreams of stardom in 1930s New York.
Richard Samuels lucks his way into a minor role in the legendary 1937 Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar, directed by a youthful Orson Welles (played by newcomer Christian McKay.) Over the course of a week, Richard makes his Broadway debut, finds romance with an ambitious older woman, and experiences the dark side of genius after daring to cross the imperious, brilliant Welles.
It’s neither particularly observant nor scathing to label director Richard Linklater’s body of work as uneven, over time coming to have almost as many misses as hits. Apart from the lacklustre ‘20s gangster flick The Newton Boys, Linklater hasn’t dabbled much in period pieces (depending on where you place A Scanner Darkly on the timeline), not that this necessarily made Me and Orson Welles an exciting prospect. Nor, for me, was the casting of Zac Efron in the lead, being more familiar with his smiling mug in photos than any work on film.
This turned out to be a pleasant surprise then, with Linklater not doing much more than fulfilling a functional role as director and letting the charismatic cast and material do the job. His filmography doesn’t smell of theatre much, yet this world and its denizens are rendered in an extremely believable way. Efron shows why he sets teen hearts aflutter and knees atremble (and gets to do a little more than he’s probably allowed in High School Musical) as theatrical newbie Richard Samuels but the film belongs to Christian McKay and his depiction of a pre-War of the Worlds Orson Welles.
McKay does a spectacular job of nailing the booming voice, quivering jowls, quick-tempered impatience and larger-than-life presence of Welles. Via his relationship with Samuels, the film allows us a glimpse of what working with this charismatic and flawed figure must have been like.
By Steve Newall, Flicks.co.nz
Richard Linklater hits us with a massive pile of 1937 in his kinda sorta not really biopic of brilliant visionary and legendary douchebag Orson Welles, as seen through the unfairly gorgeous eyes of a youthfully ambitious actor. Efron is vibrant as the teen lead, hitting the right balance of charm and ignorance while Christian McKay churns out a masterful representation of Welles that even Orson himself wouldn't be able to criticise. The relationship between the two is a tad light, but still effective. Linklater's recreation of pre-WW2 America is faithful but never overbearing, just like Orson Welles. Well, not really.
This is a film about Richard Samuels played by Zac Efron who tries out for a role in the Mecury Theatre production of Julius Ceaser in 1937 directed by Orson Welles played in a great performance by Christian McKay. Richard falls for a girl played by Claire Danes who helps run the production. This is a great film about the theatre and realising your dream of making it as an actor. I highly recommend this film
McKay portrays Orson Welles very well. The play centred around a 1937 Shakespeare production of Julius Caesar reminds me of a later production of Ian McKellar's film much later of Richard 111. Enjoyed it very much.
Really is "art in the making".
The impersonation of Welles by Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles is the centerpiece of the film, and from it, all else flows. We can almost accept that this is the Great Man.
New York, November 1937. George Gershwin has recently died, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart are the toast of Broadway and teenager Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is determined to get his own slice of theatrical fame.
A really satisfying backstage drama, this is an exhilarating tour around a man whose talent was almost as big as his ego.
Christian McKay's impersonation of young Orson Welles is sensational in this enjoyable, though slight, historical fiction about a teen who spends a memorable week with the legendary wonder.
Art is a fairy tale we choose to believe in, and this movie, a fiction confected about real people, is too good not to be true.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 1st Jul 2010.
Release date: July 1st 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
