Dvd
Me and Orson Welles
In Richard Linklater's (Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly) drama, High School Musical's Zac Efron stars as young actor, Richard, who dreams of stardom in 1930s New York.
Richard Samuels lucks his way into a minor role in the legendary 1937 Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar, directed by a youthful Orson Welles (played by newcomer Christian McKay.) Over the course of a week, Richard makes his Broadway debut, finds romance with an ambitious older woman, and experiences the dark side of genius after daring to cross the imperious, brilliant Welles.
Starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Claire Danes, Ben Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, Zoe Kazan
Directed by Richard Linklater ('A Scanner Darkly', 'Fast Food Nation', 'School of Rock', 'Dazed and Confused', 'Slacker')
Written by Holly Gent Palmo, Vincent Palmo Jr. (based on the novel Robert Kaplow)
Drama | 1hr 54mins | Rated (PG) | Contains Coarse Language | Origin: UK | Official Site »
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Flicks review
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4
It’s neither particularly observant nor scathing to label director Richard Linklater’s body of work as uneven, over time coming to have almost as many misses as hits. Apart from the lacklustre ‘20s gangster flick The Newton Boys, Linklater hasn’t dabbled much in period pieces (depending on where you place A Scanner Darkly on the timeline), not that this necessarily made Me and Orson Welles an exciting prospect. Nor, for me, was the casting of Zac Efron in the lead, being more familiar with his smiling mug in photos than any work on film.
This turned out to be a pleasant surprise then, with Linklater not doing much more than fulfilling a functional role as director and letting the charismatic cast and material do the job. His filmography doesn’t smell of theatre much, yet this world and its denizens are rendered in an extremely believable way. Efron shows why he sets teen hearts aflutter and knees atremble (and gets to do a little more than he’s probably allowed in High School Musical) as theatrical newbie Richard Samuels but the film belongs to Christian McKay and his depiction of a pre-War of the Worlds Orson Welles.
McKay does a spectacular job of nailing the booming voice, quivering jowls, quick-tempered impatience and larger-than-life presence of Welles. Via his relationship with Samuels, the film allows us a glimpse of what working with this charismatic and flawed figure must have been like.
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The people's reviews
7 reviews
Press Reviews
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Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The impersonation of Welles by Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles is the centerpiece of the film, and from it, all else flows. We can almost accept that this is the Great Man.
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Christchurch Press (James Croot)
New York, November 1937. George Gershwin has recently died, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart are the toast of Broadway and teenager Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is determined to get his own slice of theatrical fame.
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Empire Magazine (UK)
4
A really satisfying backstage drama, this is an exhilarating tour around a man whose talent was almost as big as his ego.
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Hollywood Reporter
Christian McKay's impersonation of young Orson Welles is sensational in this enjoyable, though slight, historical fiction about a teen who spends a memorable week with the legendary wonder.
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New York Times
Art is a fairy tale we choose to believe in, and this movie, a fiction confected about real people, is too good not to be true.
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NZ Herald (Peter Calder)
4
Small and perfectly formed
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Times [UK]
2
In the end, the film fails as a character portrait, a drama or a snapshot of an era, while simultaneously offering tantalising hints of each.
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TVNZ (Darren Bevan)
Combined with a sweet central romance between Efron's character and Claire Danes' manager, Me And Orson Welles is an unexpected treat, well worth two hours of your time.
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Variety (USA)
There are moments, especially when Welles is alternating between acting as Brutus and directing everyone else, that it’s possible to forget you’re watching an actor and really believe you’re beholding Orson Welles at work.
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