Me and Orson Welles (PG)

I will admit from the very beginning that I went to see this purely because I love Zac Efron. I will also admit that I thought this film was going to be some rubbish biography of some dude that I had heard of but didn’t really know much about. When I walked into the cinema auditorium, the only other people there were elderly people and I immediately thought I would find it boring. But, I was wrong.

I will safely say that Efron was cast so the film would appeal to a younger audience and also Claire Danes, most famous from Romeo + Juliet and Stardust. Efron plays Richard, a student who aspires to be an actor. One day, he stumbles across the opening of The Mercury Theatre and while everyone is outside he meets Orson Welles, who offers him a part in his production of ‘Caesar’ by Shakespeare. Naturally, Richard says yes and dives into the adult world of theatre acting. Along the way, we find out that Orson is having an affair despite the fact his wife is pregnant; he likes to always be in control and will ruin a person’s reputation for disagreeing with him. Basically, what Orson says goes. After his romance with Sonja (Danes) goes awry, Efron realises that theatre was not all it’s cracked up to be and that he does not admire Welles after all.

The plot does seem quite thin but that really all there is to do it. But, that isn’t a bad thing. The idea of the film is to focus on a period in Orson’s life -The Mercury Theatre. In fact, the actor who plays Orson, Christian McKay, is absolutely brilliant. I did not know much about the man himself before watching the film and even after research, I am still unsure if Orson Welles is the arrogant, selfish man that he is portrayed to be in the film. At least I know that the facts are correct. Most of the actors in the production of Caesar are truthful to the real ones in Welles’ time. The name of his wife and lover remain the same, as does the outcome of the show. I would say that the film sticks pretty close to the facts with maybe a bit of embellishment concerning his personality.

Although Zac Efron is usually the star, McKay definitely steals the show as the boisterous, outlandish Welles. You would probably say that Zac is only there because he can sing, dance and is good-looking. Whether that is true or not, I’m glad he was cast in this because it shows he can act in a drama rather than his standard musicals aimed at the younger audience.

Me and Orson Welles is an interesting piece. It is set in 1930’s New York and the street scenes and state of the theatre look authentic. You can learn a lot about Orson just by watching this and discover what sort of man he was. It actually inspired me to research more about him after feeling bad because I didn’t know who he was. I would say this is not a fun film or something you would see on a date but it is lovely all the same. It is nice to have a film which does not use special effects or elaborate settings and just focus on the story or subject. It is not a bad film whatsoever, I just think you have to be interested in Orson Welles or Zac Efron in order to want to watch it because it does not have a broad appeal.