Ryan McNeil
Quite honestly – I chose this film based on the previous work of director Richard Linklater. The man responsible for DAZED & CONFUSED and WAKING LIFE has been responsible for some of the most maverick movies of our time. Then again, he was also responsible for remaking BAD NEWS BEARS and THE NEWTON BOYS. Could the real Richard Linklater please stand up?
For an edgy filmmaker, Linklater plays ME AND ORSON WELLES rather safe. The story is all about Welles directing/dictating The Mercury Theatre through their 1937 production of Julius Caeser on Broadway. Just as the production begins rehearsals, Welles (Christian McKay) is impressed by a crackerjack kid named Richard (Zac Efron) and adds him to the cast in a bit part. As the weeks go on, Richard bears witness to the madness and genius that is Orson Welles.
Efron’s work in the movie is mostly harmless – by that I mean that the teen idol manages to get through his lines without tripping over the set. He doesn’t dazzle, but neither does he annoy…which I suppose is all one can ask of a Disney star these days when they try to go legit. Unfortunately, I’d have to use the “mostly harmless” critique for Claire Danes as well when describing her work as Mercury secretary Sonja, the girl that every guy in the company wants. Efron’s a newbie, and still has that new car smell. Danes has been on the scene for fifteen years now. She should be able to pull out something better than “mostly harmless”.
Gripes about Efron and Danes aside, this movie is in fact well worth seeing for one very big reason – Christian McKay’s portrayal of Orson Welles. Besides getting many of the legend’s mannerisms and expressions eerily accurate – McKay’s vocal impression of Orson Welles is spot on. He channels the ego and incorrigibility of the talented thespian, and much like the man himself becomes impossible to ignore in every scene he is in, which is pretty much all of them. As if McKay’s Welles isn’t dazzling enough, the movie also features James Tupper portraying Mercury player Joseph Cotton with equally amazing accuracy. Tupper actually scores the film’s best moment, when he gives Cotton’s role in THE THIRD MAN a friendly wink.
The movie isn’t going to earn any Oscars, and likely won’t even make any top ten lists. However, the movie is a good one, and could actually create some interest in Welles, Cotton, and The Mercury Players among younger audiences who see this movie for that certain mop-topped heart throb.
This was the final showing of ME AND ORSON WELLES at TIFF 08. It does not yet have wide release information. Give it a look, then go rent CITIZEN KANE and THE THIRD MAN.