For me, Obsessed is not the story of the weekend. Now that 17 Again has solidified the idea that Zac Efron can open and sustain something that doesn't have High School Musical or another brand stamped on it, it's time to talk about Me and Orson Welles.
Christian McKay, who will be nominated for major awards if Me and Orson Welles is finally released this year
Many are quick to disdain anything that Efron is associated with, but don't let his Disney channel affiliation and wild success turn you off of him here. Even though I've not invested any time in the High School Musical movies, I thoroughly enjoyed him in Hairspray and now this.
Instead of playing some super popular jock as would be convenient typecasting, he is a daydreaming artiste-in-the-making. He's alternately naive and arrogant, showing a range and vulnerability he's not had the opportunity to as of yet. Given the plot of the piece, where Welles gives Efron's Richard his break into showbusiness, it's ironic that the "kid" is Welles' ticket into theaters at this point.
Efron brooding
After seeing Welles in March at South by Southwest, I'm amazed it hasn't found distribution yet (last anyone heard). This movie must not go direct to VOD or DVD, it demands a theatrical presentation.
It's in the same vein as other films where a real-life figure is involved in "putting on a show." It's definitely as good and in my mind better than Shakespeare in Love if we're comparing apples to apples. Christian McKay's performance as Welles is so good that many reviewers at Toronto last year allowed it to overshadow a very solid coming-of-age period piece.
That isn't to say that McKay's Welles isn't worthy of effusive praise, as it's much more than an impersonation. What McKay has produced is a charming, comprehensive channeling of Orson, rich with texture and completely authentic. It's so well done that the superstitious part of me wonders if the cursed luck that daunted much of Welles' later life has somehow infringed on the future of this film.
The only decent photo I could find of James Tupper
As in their real-life counterparts' collaborations, I find it unfortunate that James Tupper's performance as Joseph Cotten has been mostly overlooked for that of McKay. Eddie Marsan also does a sturdy job as John Houseman, a stark contrast in type to his Scott in Happy Go Lucky last year.
It would be inaccurate and hyperbolic to call it the greatest film of the year, but it certainly deserves mention as one of the best movies I saw at SXSW and one of my favorites of 2009 thus far. I go see it twice, buy it, and recommend it to friends.
I happened to bring a friend along back in March, knowing what this "Secret Screening" was in advance. He's a generation or two older, loves the films of Stanley Kubrick and almost compulsively collects books and movies. He first decided I was worth talking to when our introductory conversation turned to Lawrence of Arabia and 2.35:1 aspect ratios. He loves the smell of books upon books lining the shelves of his den at home and is generally bored by the majority of wide releases each year. After the movie was over, he expressed gratitude for my pressing him to be there at 11am on a Monday. He added something to the effect of, "I didn't feel like a second of my life was wasted watching that. That's rare these days."
Me and Orson Welles is a fully satisfying film of its species and breeding that especially deserves to be seen by aspiring creatives: the naive, the jaded, and all in between. We need movies every once in a while that celebrate the craft and history of the stage. There is truly nothing like live, electric theatre.
I ascribe to the idea that there are certain staple stories that need to be (and are) done every so often. They are not as often done well or hungrily enough, but this one hits it on the nose. Not everyone will walk in to Welles and walk out revived by the spirit of creativity, but I sure did. Revived and well-fed, I was spoiled for the rest of the festival.