Review of RKO 281 (1999) by Kenny K — 02 Sep 2009
Alleged behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Citizen Kane," with a fine performance by Liev Schreiber as Orson Welles, focusing on Welle's astonishing hubris. Welles (and the filmmakers here) tried to make the subject of Welle's scorn, W.R. Hearst, into the demon Welles actually was: a brutal, selfish user of other people.
It doesn't work. In truth, Marian Davies was a successful comedienne in both silent and sound pictures long before she and Hearst got together and her portrayal as talentless bimbo Susan Alexander amounted to libel. Ditto Hearst's tee-totaling: he is thus marked as some sort of humorless Puritan, as if not drinking automatically made him such.
Heavy handed, but with fine performances in the service of a lame script, "RKO 281" proves once again that even the best actors are not necessarily smart; they are merely fine mimics. If they were smart, they'd see the gaping flaws in the script and refuse to be associated with the movie.
This review of RKO 281 (1999) was written by Kenny K on 02 Sep 2009.
RKO 281 has generally received positive reviews.
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