This work gives great detail about the life and circumstances of George Reeves preceding his premature death in 1959. It appears to me that after so much time has passed, it was impossible to develop or expose new objective facts which could bring our questions to a reasonable conclusion. This film should have been attempted at least 15-20 years ago, but legal issues may have been more problematic while some of the main characters were still alive.
The real star of the show is, of course, Adrien Brody, who was superb in his fictional role. The whole story unfolds as a series of flashbacks while the Brody character investigates the suicide or murder. Diana Lane is excellent in her role as the aging Toni Mannix, and she pulls it off playing a woman at least 15 years older than herself.
Ben Affleck is perfectly cast as a mediocre, down-and-out actor who is approaching middle age with unclear prospects. As in the case of Barbra Streisand playing a Jewish New York Psychiatrist in The Prince of Tides, little acting ability was required for Affleck to master this part. His rendition of George Reeves comes across wooden, pompous, and somewhat unstable. It was hard for me to like this George Reeves, and I have to wonder how accurate the script and screenplay were about his personality and lifestyle.
I learned a great deal from the film and thought it superbly done, but I wish they had presented more of the facts instead of Adrien Brody wandering around in dark rooms without any clear answers.
There were certainly several people in Mr. Reeves' life with the motive, means, and opportunity to murder him, not to mention some who were not covered in the film. Since the investigation was botched, probably intentionally by the authorities, one can conclude that somebody did not want the real answer about the victim's fate to surface. Another poster issued a fitting conclusion: "Hollywood killed Reeves, regardless of who pulled the trigger."
The real star of the show is, of course, Adrien Brody, who was superb in his fictional role. The whole story unfolds as a series of flashbacks while the Brody character investigates the suicide or murder. Diana Lane is excellent in her role as the aging Toni Mannix, and she pulls it off playing a woman at least 15 years older than herself.
Ben Affleck is perfectly cast as a mediocre, down-and-out actor who is approaching middle age with unclear prospects. As in the case of Barbra Streisand playing a Jewish New York Psychiatrist in The Prince of Tides, little acting ability was required for Affleck to master this part. His rendition of George Reeves comes across wooden, pompous, and somewhat unstable. It was hard for me to like this George Reeves, and I have to wonder how accurate the script and screenplay were about his personality and lifestyle.
I learned a great deal from the film and thought it superbly done, but I wish they had presented more of the facts instead of Adrien Brody wandering around in dark rooms without any clear answers.
There were certainly several people in Mr. Reeves' life with the motive, means, and opportunity to murder him, not to mention some who were not covered in the film. Since the investigation was botched, probably intentionally by the authorities, one can conclude that somebody did not want the real answer about the victim's fate to surface. Another poster issued a fitting conclusion: "Hollywood killed Reeves, regardless of who pulled the trigger."