'Me and Orson Welles'

'Me and Orson Welles' (PG-13) ***1/2

Writers: Holy Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo based on Novel By Robert Kaplow
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Zak Effron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Ben Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, James Tupper, Kelly Reilly, Zoe Kazan

If you love the theatre, Orson Welles and the art of acting, you will fall in love with "Me and Orson Welles". This is a beautifully shot valentine to theatre and the art of acting. It takes place in 1937 as Orson Welles, who would go on to be a genius movie director, and his Mercury Theatre troupe put on a stage play of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar". A young, aspiring actor played by Zac Effron tries to become part of this legendary group by taking on a small role in the play. He also falls in love with Claire Danes who plays an assistant to Welles. Zac Effron as I have said before is showing that he can act and hold a movie together as a lead. His last movie "17 Again" wasn't great but he was very good. But the movie really belongs to Christian McKay as Orson Welles. He not only does a perfect job of recreating that booming Welles voice but also looks just like a young Orson Welles. His performance is mesmerizing and pitch perfect and even though many don't know who he is I hope he gets a look at towards Oscar time. The movie is dreamy and well photographed and the movie knows it's subject and you can see a lot of heart went into it. The director is Richard Linklater and he is becoming one of my favorite directors. His rich list of films are always a different genre and include "Dazed and Confused", "Fast Food Nation", Before Sunrise" and "Sunset" and "School of Rock". What I like about him is that he loves every subject he films about and he never picks the same kind of subject matter twice. He clearly loves movies and reminds me of a Ron Howard though most of his films have been better. I love the acting in this movie and the performances of James Tupper as Joseph Cotton, Eddie Marsan as John Houseman and especially Christian McKay as Welles. Orson Welles was a very arrogant but extremely talented actor and performer who became probably the best movie director in film history. This movie shows that he had a passion and love for making art, plays and movies and this movie brilliantly shows that love coming through.