Review by Ryan Wilson
It's easy these days to feel as if the era in which art with a capital "A" thrived is long gone. The bohemian culture that made so many young people flock to the cities throughout the 20th century has passed. We've also lost those seminal artistic geniuses that began various movements. While popular culture chugs along as strong as ever, the day of the auteur has long faded.
It takes a film like Me and Orson Welles to remind us of what we've lost. Out last week on DVD, the movie follows a young man who suddenly gets cast as a bit player in Orson Welles' 1937 Mercury Theater debut of Julius Caesar. One minute our protagonist Richard is walking down the street, the next he's playing a scene with Welles. It's just that easy. And this is entirely the point: once upon a time a hungry actor could become a part of something huge by simply haunting the city streets.
Richard is ushered into the production so quickly that it's a bit disarming. Orson Welles, of course, is a steamroller of a director. He's impulsive and brutal in his treatment of his cast, including Richard, whom he calls "Junior." He's a perfectionist in search of his own perfect vision, and like many a genius, he has the ability to simultaneously abuse and inspire you.
The story works on two levels. For one it's the traditional look at the behind-the-scenes of a stage production. Through Richard we see the passion, the camaraderie, the agony, and the ego of everyone involved. Anyone who's ever been a part of the theater (even high school plays) can probably relate to the "family" that is created. Richard is only 17, but this doesn't matter to his stage cohorts who treat him as an equal. It's no surprise that he chooses to skip school in order to spend his days backstage.
The second layer of the film is, of course, Orson Welles, played to perfection by Christian McKay. Welles was perhaps the first and last man to master radio, theater, and film, mostly due to his understanding of these as literary forms. Here, in 1937, he's only 21 years old and starting out, but he's assured that his interpretation of Caesar is the correct one, made avant-garde by setting his Julius Caesar in fascist Italy. This is the best possible time to depict Welles in his life because we know that so much is still ahead of him, from War of The Worlds to Citizen Kane. In one scene Welles takes Richard with him to the radio studio, where he proceeds to go off script and deliver a monologue from The Magnificent Ambersons. The scene is a joy not just because it shows just how risky Welles was, but also because, as any Welles scholar knows, The Magnificent Ambersons later became one of Welles' best and lost films.
The two layers of the film meet the closer we get to curtain. As opening night approaches, Richard's backstage awe meets the reality of Welles' genius. The two compete for the time and the affection of a theater manager, played by the radiant Claire Danes. Of course there is no competition. How can anyone compete with Orson Welles? The man gets what he wants. More interesting is Danes' character, who is too smart for the stage but still wants a career in the theater. She's therefore resigned about her role. Like Welles, she'll use every tool she has in order to further her own career.
Me and Orson Welles was directed by Richard Linklater, best known for his ironic coming-of-age films. This tale is also one of those, but it feels more like a nostalgic Woody Allen film, say Radio Days or The Purple Rose of Cairo. The soundtrack is warm and rich, and all of the men are dapper and smart-witted. Yet Linklater interjects his own style at times, specifically in a few scenes where Richard routinely meets with an aspiring writer to compare their early artist endeavors. The conversation is natural and compelling, and the two recall Ethan Hawke and Julia Delpy in Linklater's Before Sunset.
The film's biggest risk is casting teen heartthrob Zac Efron as the lead. Efron is better known for fluff like High School Musical, and earlier this summer he's released more schlock for prepubescent girls. He's a touch wobbly in this, his first serious role, but his good looks feel necessary. His character, after all, needs to capture the attention of both Orson Welles and Claire Danes' Vassar graduate.
Finally, there's the math. Efron is currently 23, two years older than Welles was when he directed and starred in Julius Caesar, which is strange to think about because he's playing a kid four years younger than Welles was at the time. Efron fits in next to McKay's Welles, but it's a bit hard to accept him as a high school student still. Maybe this is why Linklater chose to minimize Richard's scenes in school and at home.
But as the title promises, the story is about Me and Orson Welles, not about balancing acting and homework. The film is essentially about getting pulled into an artistic cause, about making art that matters, even at the cost everything else.
At the end of the film Richard assures himself that he's going to be a part of it, that it's all just beginning for him because he's young. This is bittersweet because, looking back, one can see that the moment and the movement were brief. Even Orson Welles couldn't sustain his Art over his lifetime.
But at least he left Richard and us a taste.
Take 5 on Film is a production of Delta College's WUCX Q 90.1, airing every Saturday at 8:35 a.m. and again at 9:35 a.m.. For more information, visit deltabroadcasting.org.
© Ryan Wilson, 2010