Me And Orson Welles

Orson Welles is considered one of the greatest directors of all time and his film Citizen Kane usually tops any best film list. But before his acclaim in movies and television, he was a maverick theatre director and regularly produced compelling radio programs to great critical success. His genius was so apparent that John Houseman hired him to direct plays as part of the Federal Theater Project, a Franklin Roosevelt WPA program used to employ out of work actors during the Great Depression.

Orson Welles made bold, dramatic choices and was completely hands-on in every artistic decision being made. But if we are to believe his portrayal in Me and Orson Welles, he was also an egomaniac, a womanizer, and loath to taking any criticism whatsoever. He was a creative tyrant and artistic dictator. Only someone that brilliant could get away with his appalling behavior.

Christian McKay, a lucky find by director Richard Linklater, embodies the persona of Orson Welles. The Me in the title refers to Zac Efron, who plays a young theatre enthusiasts who crosses paths with Orson Welles and winds up being cast in the Mercury Theater production of Caesar. Through the eyes of young Zac, we are given a glimpse of Welles at work, and the impact that he had on those around him.

Zac Efron seems a little too cool and put together for a high school student. But I liked the innocence and embarrassment he showed when he was about to be seduced by an older woman. I also liked his bravado as he was trying desperately to fit in with the other men and hold his own in the play. However, when Orson Welles turns on him, his reaction seemed a little too petulant and whiny. But I could easily see him as a young man totally in love with the theater. It’s nice seeing him try to do something more than High School Musical.

The 1930s was an exiting time in theatre, when old traditional formats were being reinvented and a new more realistic in your face style of theatre was being born. Orson Welles was a visionary, but few really understood what he was trying to do. Even those in his plays were confused by his work methods. It took a strong ego and a determined leader to keep the cast together and pull off a production that people are still talking about today. Orson Welles is a dramatic icon and this film strives to give us an insight to the man, warts and all.

As a lover of theatre and film, I really enjoyed this movie and I feel that Christian McKay’s performance was genuine and real. But as much as I liked this movie I constantly had a feeling that something was off. I’m not sure where the disconnect was, whether it was the look of the film, or the dialogue, or even the color palette. But something subconsciously kept taking me out of the film. It could have been Claire Danes’ portrayal of a modern woman who had no qualms about sleeping her way to the top, or it could have been Orson Welles philandering which was a little too blatant and out in the open for 1930’s America. But whatever it was that didn’t ring true to me historically, it wasn’t enough to prevent me from enjoying the film. I loved spending time with this group of actors, hanging out and waiting for Orson Welles to arrive. He was the magician, the genius, there, to give everyone purpose and meaning. This film gave us a simplified version of a complicated man. My only regret is that we didn’t get to know him any better.

Rating: Second Run A simplified look at a complicated man