Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes, Ben Chaplin
Have I Seen it Before: I mean, yeah…
Did I Like It: There are any number of films—both narrative and documentary—about the making of Citizen Kane (1941), the War of the Worlds broadcast, and Orson Welles’ long slow slalom through increasing cultural ambivalence. I’ve watched pretty much all of them, so it is nice to spend a little time with the man before he is a household name. Focusing in on the rehearsals and performance of his famed fascist Julius Caesar ensures that there will likely never be another film treading over the same material. The film’s attempts to recreate that singular production bring us as close to witnessing that event as we possibly can. Linklater fills the film with a vital energy, where a lesser director might have let the material and setting speak for itself.
Except, the film isn’t really about him. Which is fine, as McKay gets the voice and cadence of Welles right, but as with so many who have tried to play him in the years leading up to the making of Kane, he’s already far too old to play Welles. He apparently has played the role occasionally in stage productions, and he might very well be the best possible performer for Welles post-The Stranger (1946) and pre-Touch of Evil (1958). It also helps that Efron makes a level-headed play for material beyond the teeny-bopper fare that brought him initial fame. He brings a refreshing earnestness to the stock character type of the wide-eyed boy who wants to be a big star. It truly is an engaging depiction of life in the theater, and infuses the notion with just enough realistic romance that even I can feel a bit wistful for not having pursed such a life. His chemistry during a flirtation which never quite blooms into a romance with Clare Danes left me not once dwelling on their staggering age difference… until sitting down to type this review.