Me and Orson Welles

One of my problems when it comes to watching movies and writing reviews is that I have difficulty putting down exactly how I feel about a film. Sure, in the video reviews I hide this under generic critical adjectives and mountains of referencial humor, but when doing a straight "what-do-I-think-of-this" sort of review, I at times struggle for words to describe my experience, unless of course the film gives me material to work with, even if the material is just me pointing out idiotic little moments and not  looking at the big picture.

That's the sort of feeling I have with Me and Orson Welles, it is not terrible (far from it) enough for me to point out flaws so obvious even an inexperienced moviegoer would find them laughable, and not life-changing enough for me to whip out every clichéd positive adjective imaginable.

The main selling point for Me and Orson Welles, aside from the dramatization of Welles' 1937 production of Julies Caesar, as well as one of the only reasons I was even remotely interested in it, was Disney Channel survivor Zac Efron in the lead role. I have always been interested in actors and actresses who break from their initial successes and branch out to other works. I like watching them evolve in their craft. While I still haven't seen much of Efron's work outside of High School Musical (Charlie St. Cloud, The Lucky One, 17 Again, to name a few), I can say that he gives a believable performance as young high schooler Richard, who easily works his way into a role in Orson's (Christian McKay) play.

Most of the film is Richard's experience in working with the controlling and arrogent Welles, conversing with fellow actors in the production, and smoothly operating with nearly all of the young females in the cast. Admittedly, that last bit is slight exaggeration, but really, the 'plot' is eighteen-year-old Richard's relationship with Clair Danes' character, as well as with a young writer named Greta. We meet with Greta three times in the movie, once in the beginning, once in the middle, and once in the end. Basically, she's the checkpoint.

Perhaps this film is the story of an ambitious young man who makes his way into the world of glamor and fame, even for just a moment, but realizes the hard way how harsh that world can be, so at the end he decides that a simpler reality is for him, not this dictatorship under Welles. He had his fling with the production assistant who spent most of her time trying to get in touch with the director of Gone With the Wind (Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film), and he is ready to try a more naturalistic relationship with the young writer.

Whether or not I will return to Me and Orson Welles has yet to be seen, but if you're interested in seeing Zac Efron in a role not entitled 'Troy Bolton', or Christian Mckay's impeccable Orson Welles impression, I'd suggest, at the very least, a rental.