Hollywoodland

Imagine that Citizen Kane concentrated on the bland investigator and pushed the title magnate's story into the background, and you'll have some idea of what's wrong with this treatment of the last days of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in the 1950s television series and supposedly shot himself, despondent over his failing career (“Superman Kills Self!” the headlines blared). Suspicion persists, however, that he was killed by somebody else, and Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland examines that possibility, focusing on the actor's personal life, which included a dangerous relationship with the wife of a powerful MGM vice president whom he dumped for a younger woman. Granted, it's a tantalizing real-life scandal, and Ben Affleck proves convincing both as Reeves and as Superman, but unfortunately the story is buried under a fictional wraparound narrative about a down-on-his-luck P.I. (Adrian Brody, in a tiresomely monochromatic performance) who looks into the actor's death and imagines various scenarios about how and why he might have been killed. Hollywoodland achieves a solid period look on a modest budget, but fails to do dramatic justice to a potentially fascinating story. Optional. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Allen Coulter, an eight-minute “Hollywood Then & Now” featurette, “Re-Creating Old Hollywood” (7 min.), “Behind the Headlines” (7 min.), five minutes of deleted scenes, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)