Me and Orson WellesDirected by Richard LinklaterRialto CinemasWhen the production credits roll for Me and Orson Welles, which is set in New York, it seems strange to see that it was funded by Isle of Man Film.In fact most of the film was shot on the Isle
Me and Orson Welles
Directed by Richard Linklater
Rialto Cinemas
When the production credits roll for Me and Orson Welles, which is set in New York, it seems strange to see that it was funded by Isle of Man Film.
In fact most of the film was shot on the Isle of Man with extensive use made of a local theatre, which is the same vintage as the New York Mercury Theatre
Me and Orson Welles is set in 1930s New York with 17-year-old student Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) stumbling his way into having a bit part in a production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, directed by Orson Welles.
Over the course of a week he becomes part of the legendary 1937 Mercury Theatre production of Caesar, comes under the spell of Welles, has his first romantic encounter and manages to antagonise Welles, who then dismisses him.
Christian McKay as Welles gives an impressive performance. He looks like Welles and manages to give the impression of a larger than life person who dominated everybody around him.
We discover the power of Welles as a director but also his brooding dark side with his imperious need for adulation and difference – he travels around New York in an ambulance to get through the crowded streets more easily.
The film is directed by Richard Linklater, who has made some great films in the past such as Fast Food Nation, although his School of Rock was not much of a high point.
Welles was only 22 when he directed the play and two years later he would be directing his major film, Citizen Kane, and a few years later would make The Magnificent Ambersons.
In Me and Orson Welles, the director is seen reading and annotating his copy of the Booth Tarkington novel and Joseph Cotten, who was to star in The Magnificent Ambersons, is one of the cast for Caesar, played by James Tupper.
Apart from these two classics, Welles’s 50-year career in film included The Trial, Chimes at Midnight and Touch of Evil. There was also his iconic performance as Harry Lime in Carol Reed's The Third Man.
