Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean

This black-and-white biopic brings a specific period in James Dean's life to light, using jump cuts, moody music, and epigrammatic musings that lend it a French New Wave feel. Directed by Matthew Mishory, the film stars James Preston—displaying a chiseled retro look—as Jimmy, a pretentious hedonist who smokes, drinks, and lounges around the pool of his wealthy benefactor, Roger (although Jimmy insists that he's "thinking" and not simply sunbathing). Jimmy dismisses his contemporaries, serves up quotes from Rimbaud and Hemingway, and appears to have high self-regard (which may not have been far off the mark). On a whim, Jimmy takes a trip to Joshua Tree in 1951 with his unnamed UCLA roommate (Dan Glenn) and Violet (Dalilah Rain), Roger's assistant—a journey that frames an extended flashback focusing on his college days. A lackluster student, Jimmy tells his roommate that he thinks in pictures rather than words. When he isn't taking acting classes, he sleeps with both men and women (in scenes sporting a fair amount of male and female nudity). Although the roommate has a crush on him, Jimmy is slow to respond, possibly because he prefers the rougher stuff. Violet tells him he's not that different from other actors in terms of attitude and ambition, but he refuses to believe her—and his meteoric fame would, in a sense, prove her wrong. Offering an unusual take on a well-worn story, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)