When I heard that teenage heartthrob Zac Efron was going to star in Richard Linklater’s film based on Robert Kaplow’s novel about a rookie actor who gets his luck playing Lucius in Julius Caesar’s legendary debut Broadway production of the Mercury Theater of Orson Welles in 1937, I was a little uncomfortable, but not intimidated by my enduring fascination with Welles, it was always going to be a must see.
Having seen at least two of the High School Musical movies, my expectations were low enough, however, to my surprise, Efron performs quite well here, as his easy-going appearance and effortless charm fit the bill perfectly. role of Richard Samuels, an indefatigable. Theatrical romantic that forms a relationship with the celebrated iconoclast Orson Welles played with surprising verisimilitude by newcomer Christian McKay.
The film is set right after Orson and producer John Houseman (Eddie Marsan) had their admirable run-in with the government over the censorship of the musical The Cradle Will Rock due to writer Marc Blitzstein’s affiliation with the Communist Party. This was a federal theater production; The project was one of FDR’s New Deal initiatives aimed at providing practical work for unemployed men during the Great Depression, yet Blitzstein’s work had a pro-union message that did not sit well with the administration he presided over and the theater was closed and all the props seized causing Welles and Houseman to hire an alternate venue from their own pockets for an impromptu performance that requires part of the cast to deliver their lines from the audience seats; the famous cause was documented in Tim Robbins’ 1999 film of the same name.
After the incident, both Welles and Houseman resigned from the Federal Theater and formed the Mercury Players starting a repertory company that included Joseph Cotton (James Tupper) and Norman Lloyd (Leo Bill), many of whom would appear in most, if not in all from Welles future. productions on stage, radio and screen. His debut show was to be a modern version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, making a comparison with contemporary fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini; adapting the key scene featuring Cinna the Poet and having him brutally murdered not by an angry mob but by a secret police force.
One of the film’s great strengths lies in showing a theater in operation from both sides of the curtain. It also sheds light on Welles’ eccentric working methods, particularly the way he handled his fellow actors, seducing them or inciting them to his best performances. It also shows his dedicated running from one radio show to another, lending his vocal talents in the blink of an eye, be it as The Shadow or another random character, to fund his own productions; Apparently he hired an ambulance to avoid New York traffic, as there was no law saying you had to be sick to ride one!
While it’s fair to say that due to Welles’ massive personality, Christian McKay steals every scene he’s in, Zac Efron and Claire Danes still have enough screen time to explore their attraction to each other in a series of hilarious scenes. funny that remind of the wacky farces of the time. Director Linklater does it remarkably well with a relatively low budget and straightforward approach, the obvious area where he hasn’t spared is in the script’s wonderful attention to historical detail, taking his time and never underestimating the attention span of the audience.
Given Zac Efron’s bankability, there must have been a great temptation to make creative compromises to reach a larger market; Fortunately, the producers chose to make the film in the Isle of Man, a tax haven, which allowed them much greater artistic control but unfortunately limited distribution options and consequently the film has been seen by few people, which It’s a shame.
Initial UK home video releases were strictly limited to one supermarket chain and have yet to appear in high definition, although luckily the German Blu-ray release has a full 1080p VC-1 image resolution and a DTS. -HD 5.1 optional in English. audio soundtrack, no forced subtitles. I can imagine how difficult it is, given the subject, to get a film made like Orson Welles and myself, so I commend Richard Linklater and hope that in time the film will find the audience it really deserves.