2006
Directed by Allen Coulter
Written by Paul Bernbaum
Starring Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins, and Robin Tunney
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On Thursday night, I watched the very disappointing The Black Dahlia [1]. Last night, I watched the other old Hollywood murder mystery that was released at around the same time, Hollywoodland. Trust me - this one was MUCH better!

Hollywoodland is a docudrama that takes place in 1959 and tells the story of struggling detective Louis Simo (Brody) who is investigating the suspicious suicide of George Reeves, who played Superman on TV.

The movie switches back and forth between Simo's current investigation and the life of Reeves, played very convincingly (for once) by Ben Affleck. Reeves began an affair with Toni Mannix (Lane), the very rich wife of MGM Studio exec Eddie Mannix (Hoskins). They had a long relationship which ended when Reeves met and fell for aspiring actress Leonore Lemmon (Tunney). Reeves always wanted to be a serious actor, but took the role as Superman just to pay the bills. Although he was beloved by children everywhere, he wasn't very happy playing the role. After Superman was cancelled, Reeves was thrilled, but he was never able to make it as a serious actor, which contributed to his depression.

Simo is dealing with problems of his own (with his ex-wife and son, current girlfriend, past employer, and other clients) when he takes on this case for Reeves' mother, who believes he was murdered. While he's first just in it for the money, Simo eventually gets very involved in the case and continues investigating even after Reeves' mother fires him.

The movie never tells us exactly what happened to Reeves - because, of course, nobody ever found out for sure. But it presents different scenarios for the viewer. Was he killed by scorned ex-lover Toni? Manipulative Eddie? Golddigging Leonore? Or was it truly a suicide? We'll never know.

I really liked this movie. I'm a HUGE Adrien Brody fan and he didn't disappoint. Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins were excellent as usual. Robin Tunney was a bit over the top but she was fun to watch. And Ben Affleck, who I've always considered a fairly one-dimensonal actor (he's just BEN AFFLECK in every role, if you know what I mean) did a very good job as well.

So, if you see only one Old-Hollywood murder mystery this year, avoid The Black Dahlia and rent Hollywoodland instead.