Richard Linklater is never a director you can comprehend the choices of, at one point he'll be making a kids film with Jack Black, then a rotoscoping sci-fi film and then a partially Spanish language drama about fast food.
This year he has a film set in '30's New York filmed in the Isle of Man starring Zac Efron and about an early production by Orson Welles. Yeah, exactly, Funny thing is, however, it can sound as shit as possible, but damn him, Linklater knows quality still.
Efron once again proves his talents and charisma isn't just working on tweens, he's fun, engaging and top quality throughout, as a young man trying to get a big break in the theatre it's sweet, his interactions with fellow cast members, trying to be one of the men, and at the same time wooing the 'beautiful' young woman, Clare Danes, who oversees the theatre. I put beautiful in quotation marks because she's supposed to be good looking, but as it plays out, good god she's ugly.
The film manages to be fast paced and witty, entertaining in the build up, the interactions with Efron and the other actors, and of course Orson Welles, played to perfection by Christian McKay who is a shoo-in for an Oscar nod (Though Mr. Chris Waltz will win), It's a shame that people would avoid the film due to Efron's appearance in the film, alongside Hairspray, he's showing his qualities are vast and his talent is underused in the Disney career he's begun with, in the next 10 years he's gonna break out and be a BIG star, you can count on that.
The film looks amazing, you could never tell it wasn't shot in New York, and the palette is well done, almost an amalgamation of the period setting being realistic and the sepia tone we see it from footage nowadays. The music is big and broad, the script is brilliant, acting fantastic and the direction is top notch. A small and subtle film that won't be noted much but is superior to what you might expect.
9/10
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