Bryan Cranston is Dalton Trumbo and leader of the Hollywood Ten.
But can playing a great dramatist make for great drama?
Its an old adage that Hollywood likes best those special movies about Hollywood.
Even better are movies that depict Tinsletown as the saints overcoming the sinners.
This is perhaps why a film such asArgocan win Best Picture while far more ambitious fare likeL.A.
Confidentialis left only to applaud from the sidelines.
Afterwards, he penned a few more likeGun Crazy(1950) and the legendaryRoman Holiday(1953).
But there is nothing standard about Bryan Cranstons performance here.
As Dalton Trumbo, Cranston finally gets a post-Breaking Badbig screen role worthy of his talents.
And Lanes Cleo feels especially muted by the constraints of being trapped in the supporting wife trope.
There is also plenty of other star casting and supporting work that is memorable, including Louis C.K.
Roach previously was best known for his broad PG-13 comedies likeAustin PowersandMeet the Parents.
Theyre more respectable dramatizations than great dramas.
InTrumbos case, that is of course Cranston at his most playful and bedeviling.
Because again, Hollywood are the saints, right?
Rating:
2.5 out of 5
