Hollywoodland
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
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  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    100
    The period details and performances are uniformly superb (Bob Hoskins is especially good as MGM executive Eddie Mannix), and the major characters are even more complex than those in "Chinatown."
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    88
    With an uncredited assist from playwright/screenwriter Howard Korder, Hollywoodland features some tart, lively banter and welcome comedic touches.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    83
    The chief frustration of this otherwise well-made, well-acted, well-heeled picture -- a movie classy in its artful modesty, with every detail of plot and period furnishings lovingly conceived, every lick of jazz-influenced score true to the times -- is that it is so very self-absorbedly graceful about something so very insular and...unremarkable.
  4. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    While Coulter and company try gamely to forge two powerful stories, they manage, finally, about one-and-a-half -- which is a lot more than most films, and for which moviegoers should be grateful.
  5. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    83
    It packs surprising punch as a biopic.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.7 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 24
  3. Negative: 9 out of 24
  1. Randy
    9
    Adrien Brody was superb, and what a complex, compelling and melancholy story! Whether George Reeves committed suicide or was murdered, it seems that the movie was saying that his life came to a sad end in a tawdry setting. Very thought-provoking film.… Full Review »
  2. jhep
    1
    Lady Macbeth famously said HELL IS MURKY â
  3. LewisP.
    4
    The problem with 'Hollywoodland' is that the film's protagonist (played by Adrian Brody) is not involved in solving the central question posed by the film. Brody's private investigator's ordeal occurs when he tries to take his 7 year old son out for a little get-together while he's drunk without his estranged wife's permission. After the Act 2 ordeal, he subsequently experiences an epiphany and at the end of the flick we presume he'll be back in his son's good graces (and also feels good about himself to boot). Unfortunately for us he's never involved in solving the film's central question--did George Reeves commit suicide or was he murdered? Maybe this is a film that shouldn't have been made at all since questions about Reeve's death remain unanswered to this day. I'm not sure why people see Reeves as a failed actor. To my mind he was a better Superman than any actor who came after him. It's just unfortunate that there simply aren't that many good scripts out there for good actors. Ben Affleck was better playing Reeves' 'darker' side but didn't really capture his charm or sense of humor. The female actors were much better in this flick. Ultimately, the film lacked suspense and probably could have dispensed with the whole Brody story line (a sub-plot masquerading as the major plot).… Full Review »
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