Excellent film; Kevin Kline is great

ppilf

I eagerly awaited the release of this movie. And it met my expectations well, which is unusual because most movies that I highly anticipate end up disappointing me due to my built-up expectations. This one didn't. It is very well made from beginning to end. All three main actors did a great job portraying their characters; true professionals. Kevin Kline's depiction of Errol Flynn was amazing. His was the most demanding role because the whole world knows Errol Flynn.

I love historical reality dramas like this when produced properly by professionals. Films like this not only require highly experienced and talented people, but require a great deal of research and preproduction. To me these movies come the closest to reverse time travel. This movie did a very good job of transporting me back to 1950s Hollywood, to the streets and sound stages of Warner studios, and witnessing the last private two years of the aging bigger-than-life star Errol Flynn. As every movie critic knows, the quintessential trait of a good movie is the ability to make the viewer forget he/she is watching a movie. Reality and accuracy are important to me. I'm a fan of the reality film noir genre. I don't like the older "big production" historical or biopic movies that put on airs and over-glamorize like a 17th century opera. I truly think people who gave this movie a bad review simply aren't qualified to critique biographical films, or appreciate the art and science of film production. I think they might also have a preconceived notion of what Errol Flynn's life should have been like, which is narrow-minded. These people probably have a taste for the old phony fantasy biopics that I dislike so much, such as "Night and Day"(1946), a badly embellished film about composer Cole Porter. Errol Flynn was certainly a megastar who led a life of fame and fortune, but it wasn't all as grandiose and wonderful as some people might think, especially due to Flynn's lifelong health problems. I will agree that perhaps it would have been nice if this movie had some scenes aboard Flynn's famous yacht Zaca, and scenes of the lavish trips and gala Hollywood elite events that Flynn and Aadland attended. Unfortunately, historical biopics like this just don't draw the huge young and dumb movie crowd that action-hero, sci-fi, and space thrillers do. And I just don't feel right taking points off my rank of a biographical film only because it lacked money in its budget.

I'm always thankful for talented film producers, directors, actors, and crews who provide their valuable time and talents making wonderful biopics like this. There aren't many people in the general movie-going public who appreciate these rare productions. My DVD of this movie is one of my highly valued film art possessions.

score 9/10

ppilf 25 July 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3284075/