Me and Orson Welles (2008)

Me and Orson Welles is a portrayal of the Welles' modern-dress bare-stage production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The film is based on the novel, Me and Orson Welles, written by Robert Kaplow. Richard Linklater directs and produces this coming-of-age story to make it feel as real as being there backstage.

The date is November 5th, 1937 in New York City. Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is a 17-year old student that has hopes of becoming an actor. He meets Gretta (Zoe Kazan) in a music store and she dreams of becoming a writer. Richard unexpectedly runs into 21-year old Orson Welles (Christian McKay), who is impressed with his on-the-spot talents of drumming, singing and theatre knowledge. He offers him the role of Lucius in his upcoming play at the Mercury Theatre, Julius Cesar. Early on, Richard can see Welles is having an affair with the leading actress while his wife is pregnant. Welles directs, produces and stars the play as Brutus. Welles is worried too much good luck will bring bad luck on premiere night.

Richard meets the hardworking production assistant Sonja (Claire Danes), who quickly takes a liking to him. He soon finds out that every guy on set has tried to woo Sonja in one way or another without success. Richard is backstage during rehearsals and accidentally sets off the sprinkler system which soaks the theatre. Welles demands to know who to blame and calls out Richard. He suggests it's the bad luck thing and Welles understands.

Richard runs into Gretta at a museum and she shows him the short story she wrote. He tells her he's met notable people through acting and suggests taking her story to a publisher. Welles sets up a coupling game as a way to bond before the premiere. Richard hands out the tickets and cheats his way to partnering up with Sonja. They go out dancing and spend the night together.

The next night, Orson tells Richard he's a God created actor, magnificent. Welles takes Sonya for the night and she tells Richard she can't refuse him. A man overhears their conversation and comes out of the shadows. He tells Richard she wants him to fight for her. The morning of the premiere, Richard tells Sonya he loves her and calls out Welles for cheating on his wife. Welles abruptly fires him. That afternoon, Richard and Welles make an agreement to perform on opening night. The premier is a huge success and afterward, Richard finds out he's been fired for good. He sees Sonja for the last time and tells him she tried changing Welles mind but couldn't.

Richard meets up with Gretta again at the museum and she has good news. Her short story had been published in The New Yorker. She asks him out to celebrate and they walk out of the museum.

Christian McKay deserves a ton of credit for his outstanding work as Orson Welles in his film debut. He's near perfect in the way he boastfully expresses himself without judgment in front of an entire cast and production crew. He doesn't take criticism from anyone and gets the point across very clearly that it's his show. The crew is used to waiting around because they are on Orson's time. He gives his unfiltered, rash opinion without hesitation.

Zac Efron, having prior experience in films such as High School Musical and Hairspray, makes him a perfect cast for this role. Welles made sure he could sing and trusted he could play the ukulele. He and Clare Danes compliment each other nicely. She admires the way he romanticizes everything, and he believes in finding love.

Richard Linklater does an excellent job of capturing the near-constant work, days and nights, that goes into a stage production of this magnitude. It's exhausting work for a cast that's getting paid little to nothing to put in days worth of effort. One of the most impressive scenes is when Welles and the main cast is reading the script over the radio. From the start to finish, the camera moves left to right in a circle, just as a script would be read. Welles didn't miss a beat while smoking his Cuban cigar.

I've seen most of Linklater's films and this is one of his finest works. Ebert claimed Me and Orson Welles as one of the best films about the theater he had ever seen, and I have to agree with him. In the end, Linklater leaves us with life lessons and historical context. Most importantly, insight on the young Orson Welles, who inspired not only this film but many others over the past near-century. I highly recommend this film to teens and adults, especially those interested in theater.

4/4