Faster than a speeding bullet is the bullet that led to the mysterious death of George Reeves (Ben Affleck) of the 1950s television show “Superman” where (as the movie’s log line says) “living in Hollywood can make you famous, but dying in Hollywood makes you a legend.” Enter Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) a half-ass detective and deadbeat dad, who decides to tackle the newspaper’s headline, after he visits Reeve’s mother (Lois Smith) who doesn’t believe in the media assumption of suicide. The movie weaves evidence of the plausible killers – and would-be imagined scenarios – from his cheap fiancée, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney) to his best friend and lover, Toni Mannix (Diane Lane) wife of MGM studio head honcho (Bob Hoskins). All these people have a motive to see him dead, but there’s never the proof to back up a frustrated Simo’s findings. And interestingly enough, the movie neglects to mention his other two suicide attempts. At first glance, the movie feels like the Oscar nominated “L A Confidential” but soon develops its own standing legs with its witty and softer script by first time writer Paul Bernbuam, brilliant casting, and well-paced but somehow snappy story, even at two hours and sixteen minutes. Affleck and Brody take risks in these roles that really pay off. Affleck as the man of steel who began his career as a Tarleton twin in “Gone With The Wind” before being washed up in “Superman,” while Brody, sort of washed up himself, shuffles around town like an unwanted flea, not the type of roles we’re accustomed to seeing him in. Yet he manages, as does Affleck, to be very likable and a sympathetic underdogs despite their character’s weaknesses. But it’s Diane Lane, who steals the show and will certainly garnish another Oscar nomination. A must see and possibly the best drama of the year to date. Four tiaras.
