It's evidenced by the number of credits he has per year that James Franco is wearing himself thin. As an actor, I've seen a handful of his films, his recurring "guest part" on "General Hospital" and even his Broadway stint in "Of Mice and Men". For this film about two time Oscar nominated hunk Sal Mineo, I expected so much more, but all I got was a glimpse into his doing regular daily activities, like going to a doctor, a gym, talking to an agent, confiding to a friend about a trick, and planning to move his L.A. play to Broadway, as well as make a movie where a controversial scene about gay rape is in danger of being rewritten.
I never once believed that Val Lauren looked anything like Sal Mineo. Sure, he's dark haired and muscular, but he lacks the boyish look that even with a mustache (which Lauren does not have), Sal pretty much kept to the end. His version of Sal is presented as a nice guy, friendly with the cleaning lady, cracking jokes with the neighbors and inviting his gardener to his play. A phone conversation with the unseen Jill Haworth gives a hints but not much more than what you hear him saying to her. So he's a nice guy, all the more tragic for somebody murdered later that night, but this is a film, so where is the plot?
The major problem with this film is the camera, often closely held behind two actors in a scene together that makes them completely blurry. Location footage of L.A. is blurred too, as if to hide 2011 in the 1976 setting. I used to know people who lived in the building where Mineo was killed, and there's not one closeup of it. I am sorry to have to report that this look at an icon I really admired is strangely emotionally empty, even if its director was passionate about the subject. A look at Mineo's rise and decline, then his hopes of a great comeback, might have had a larger impact, especially when the inevitable tragedy occurs.
I never once believed that Val Lauren looked anything like Sal Mineo. Sure, he's dark haired and muscular, but he lacks the boyish look that even with a mustache (which Lauren does not have), Sal pretty much kept to the end. His version of Sal is presented as a nice guy, friendly with the cleaning lady, cracking jokes with the neighbors and inviting his gardener to his play. A phone conversation with the unseen Jill Haworth gives a hints but not much more than what you hear him saying to her. So he's a nice guy, all the more tragic for somebody murdered later that night, but this is a film, so where is the plot?
The major problem with this film is the camera, often closely held behind two actors in a scene together that makes them completely blurry. Location footage of L.A. is blurred too, as if to hide 2011 in the 1976 setting. I used to know people who lived in the building where Mineo was killed, and there's not one closeup of it. I am sorry to have to report that this look at an icon I really admired is strangely emotionally empty, even if its director was passionate about the subject. A look at Mineo's rise and decline, then his hopes of a great comeback, might have had a larger impact, especially when the inevitable tragedy occurs.