Me and Orson Welles is a film that takes place at the famous Mercury Theatre in New York City in the late 1930s. The film captures the environment of what it is like to be a part of a play and to be in theater. The city of New York looks great and full of life as do the characters themselves. Director Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Before Sunset) brings to life the Mercury Theatre, and more importantly, a young, talented, and brilliant man named Orson Welles (Christian McKay).
Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is a 17-year-old who loves theater and wants to be an actor. All he has done is school plays until he encounters Welles who decides to let him play Lucius in his production of “Julius Caesar.” And then in one week, we see how Richard falls in love with acting and working for Welles – and simply falling in love.
The woman Richard falls in love with is named Sonja Jones (Claire Danes). She captures Richard’s heart, but she loves her career more. She is sympathetic and sweet, but looks out only for herself. Not to mention the romance between her and Welles behind closed doors. Richard gets a life experience all in one week and Sonja is definitely a key part of it.
Efron and Danes have chemistry and it is a sweet little romance they share. Danes is beautiful and talented, and she lights the screen up every time she is on it. Efron really shows some range in this film. He is still able to show off his singing skills, but he also gets to show his acting skills. But it is McKay who takes this film and lifts it to the next level.
McKay shows the ego, the brilliance, and the talent that was Welles. And he looks a lot like the man himself. He was a man who knew what he wanted and he got it his way. Now how he got things his way is a different story. He was a good talker. He was charming and persuasive, and that can be very dangerous. But the performance by McKay is the most noteworthy and enjoyable. He breathes life into Welles and into the film itself.
Me and Orson Welles is a light-hearted film about a young man’s journey that only lasted a week, but will be remembered forever. The city of New York in the 1930s looks amazing and really sets the film up nicely. There are good performances by Efron and Danes, and a great performance by McKay.
“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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