Life

source: Life

The glimpse into old Hollywood was the only redeeming feature of this film. Dane DeHaan appears to be doing an imitation of Edward Furlong if he were doing an imitation of James Dean. Pretending you are a rebel by not having the energy to open you mouth when you speak is not acting, Dean was withdrawn but could enunciate. Dean had a look and a vibe, that DeHaan is far too dumpy looking to pull off. They say Dean was "bi", but, DeHaan had "gaydars" on blast from his seen. As always, Robert Pattinson is one dimensional, a card board cutout may have had more depth. This could have been a much better film with better casting of the two main rolls. I be surprised if Ben Kingsley isn't embarrassed by the this stinker. I want my 111 minutes back!

This was a stunningly boring movie. Pattinson turned in his usual sleeper performance - what's the old saying - "he could have mailed it in". DeHaan's James Dean character seemed obtuse and forced. Maybe Dean was this self-absorbed; I'd like to think otherwise. A real stinker of a flick. Definitely one not to waste your time on. The only scenes that offered any refreshing warmth and (perhaps)an authentic glimpse of Dean, were those shot on the farm back in Indiana. The Dean character seemed to become child-like and at ease with life; whereas back in L.A., Jack Warner was a constant thorn in Dean's non-conformist side. The rural settings of Indiana were a respite from the tedium of Pattinson's stare and DeHaan's seemingly unsure interpretation of the Dean character made this a very long movie.

Life Magazine photographer Dennis Stock forms an attachment and gets to spend time and photograph a young James Dean in the early stages of his tragically short career. Set around the time of the announcement of the engagement of Pier Angeli to Vic Damone, the news sent Dean spiralling into depression, Dean having dated Angeli previously. Dennis recognises that 'Jimmy' is part of a change in society, and aims to be there throughout. James Dean is a truly iconic figure, to this day his tragic loss is felt, who knows how good an actor he would have become. It's a very sensitive film, everything is subtle and softly done somehow, I include the two leading performances in that summary also, I thought Dane DeHaan was an excellent piece of casting as James Dean, I bought into him. As for R Patz I quite like him as an actor, I question some of the roles he takes, I thought he was very good in this. The gravitas came from Ben Kingsley, who unfortunately didn't get a great amount of screen time. I find the start a little slow, but after the first thirty or forty minutes it really opens up. Rather good, underrated movie, 7/10