Me and Orson Welles (2010)
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 151
Fresh: 128 | Rotten: 23
Me and Orson Welles boasts a breakout performance by Christian McKay and an infectious love of the backstage drama that overcomes its sometimes fluffy tone.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 5
Me and Orson Welles boasts a breakout performance by Christian McKay and an infectious love of the backstage drama that overcomes its sometimes fluffy tone.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 16,860
Movie Info
High-school student Richard (Zac Efron) dreams of a life on the stage, so he takes trips into Manhattan and, on one of these occasions -- thanks to his drum- and ukulele-playing skills -- manages to BS his way into the cast of Orson Welles' (Christian McKay) newest production. The impressionable kid immediately gets swept up into this exciting new world. As he learns from his brilliant, mercurial new mentor, Richard attempts to win the affections of Sonja Jones (Claire Danes), an ambitious
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Cast
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Zac Efron
Richad Samuels (Lucius) -
Claire Danes
Sonja Jones -
Christian McKay
Orson Welles (Brutus) -
Zoe Kazan
Gretta Adler -
James Tupper
Joseph Cotten (Publius) -
Leo Bill
Norman Lloyd (Cinna the... -
Eddie Marsan
John Houseman -
Ben Chaplin
George Coulouris (Mark ... -
Al Weaver
Sam Leve -
Kelly Reilly
Mureil Brassler (Portia... -
Iain McKee
Vakhtangov -
Simon Lee Philips
Walter Ash -
Imogen Poots
Lorelei Lathrop -
Aidan McArdle
Martin Gabel (Cassius) -
Simon Nehan
Joe Holland (Julius Cae... -
Patrick Kennedy
Grover Burgess (Ligariu... -
Janie Dee
Mrs. Samuels -
Marlene Sidaway
Grandmother Samuels -
Garick Hagon
Dr. Mewling -
Megan Maczko
Evelyn Allen (Calpurnia... -
Aaron Brown
Longchamps Kid #1 -
Travis Oliver
John Hoyt (Decius) -
Nathan Osgood
Radio Announcer -
Robert Wilfort
Radio Director -
Michael Brandon
Les Tremayne -
Saskia Reeves
Barbara Luddy -
Mike McEvoy
I.L. Epstein -
Thomas Arnold
George Duthie (Artemido... -
Jo McInnes
Jeannie Rosenthal -
Daniel Tuite
William Mowry (Flavius) -
Emily Allen
Virginia Welles -
John Young
Longchamps Kid #2 -
Eddi Reader
Singer -
Jools Holland
Band Leader -
Steve Parry
Mercury Trumpet Player -
Jay Irving
Mercury Percussion Play... -
David Garbutt
Mercury French Horn Pla...
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Me and Orson Welles Trailer & Photos
All Critics (153) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (128) | Rotten (23) | DVD (1)
The most resonant voice belongs to Welles, or rather to McKay, who uncannily channels the charm, ego and flim-flammery of the man who would soon move to Hollywood to direct and star in Citizen Kane.
Top CriticChristian McKay's impersonation of young Orson Welles is sensational in this enjoyable, though slight, historical fiction about a teen who spends a memorable week with the legendary wonder.
The very name Orson Welles stands for genius wasted and betrayed, and the movie offers some foreshadowing of his triumphs and failures to come.
A thoroughly enjoyable film that wraps a coming-of-age story around the portrait of a genius.
It's an open question as to who, outside theater geeks, will find this inside-baseball approach quite as fascinating as Linklater apparently does.
I forgot that I was looking at an actor. I really believed I was looking at Welles.
The film's Welles is a mix of huckster and genius, thanks to an astonishing performance by little-known English actor Christian McKay, who captures his boundless self-confidence and energy. Director Richard Linklater gives his cast the chance to shine.
A smart and charming backstage theater film.
Thanks to Linklater and McKay, we get a rendition of Welles that gives vital pulse to the man, the myth, the legend.
Christian McKay delivers a stand out performance in two of the best escapist hours you'll experience this year.
You're not going to have huge laughs or terrible sadness or excitement. It's a bittersweet love letter to thespians of old.
Me and Orson Welles is a potentially wonderful film damaged by the presence of a lacklustre Zac Efron.
McKay is magnificent [as Welles]. Not for a moment did I doubt that this was the man who went on to make Citizen Kane.
The film is beautifully, factually detailed. There's much to love here.
The sheer dynamism of Welles in full flight -- an exasperating, yet awe-inspiring figure around the clock -- is brought to life with an incredible performance by unknown British actor Christian McKay.
Me and Orson Welles has plenty to offer fans, be they of theatre, old movies, or High School Musical. If you can tick at least one of these boxes then you're in for a good time.
Though you may see the end coming somewhere towards the beginning, this is a highly enjoyable film with an excellent support cast, witty and fast-paced script and brilliant performances.
Me and Orson Welles, whilst slight, should appeal to stage and screen buffs.
It's not as far from the small town '70s Texas of Dazed and Confused to backstage at the Mercury Theatre on opening night in 1937 as you might think.
The legend which is Orson Welles and his passion for the theatre are beautifully portrayed in this breezy period drama.
With its wonderful period details, strong performances and fascinating characters, Me and Orson Welles is an incredibly enjoyable film.
Thanks to McKay's mesmerising performance, Me and Orson Welles also stands as a fitting tribute to the abundant talents of its larger-than-life title character, an icon of stage, radio and screen.
McKay does a spectacular job of nailing the booming voice, quivering jowls, quick-tempered impatience and larger-than-life presence of Welles.
Welles, wonderfully characterised by Christian McKay, is the centre of his universe, and he has no doubts about his genius..What the film does well is the effortless creative talent that drove Welles and the negative aspects of it..
A wonderful coming of age story, intricately set in the world of theatre, Me and Orson Welles is a seductive film about dreams and betrayal. There is much more than a career on stage at risk
The movie makes a solid argument that this kind of biography, portraying a person via a defining moment in their life, may be far more effective than the formulaic birth-to-death biopics that have been so in vogue this decade.
Audience Reviews for Me and Orson Welles
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Orson Welles (Brutus): Those back-doors don't open for Jesus Christ himself!
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- Orson Welles (Brutus): Consonants, consonants, consonants...and don't forget the vowels.
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- Orson Welles (Brutus): That's all we need: a dozen critics with wet asses.
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- Dr. Mewling: By the year of 1592, Shakespeare was already an actor, and a playwright. Records of how his stage career began have not survived. We do know that in 1594 he joined a theater troupe. Called... anyone remember? Not everyone at once now. The Lord Chamberlain's Men.
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- Orson Welles (Brutus): Look at us, Runyon. Me without my story and you without your girl. We can't ever tell what will happen at all, can we? Once I stood in Grand Central Station to say goodbye to a pretty girl. I was wild about her. In fact, we decided we couldn't live without each other, and we were to be married. When we came to say goodbye we knew we wouldn't see each other for almost a year. I thought I couldn't live through it - and she stood there crying. Well, I don't even know where she lives now, or if she is living. If she ever thinks of me at all, she probably imagines I'm still dancing in some ballroom somewhere... Life and money both behave like quicksilver in a nest of cracks. And when they're gone we can't tell where - or what the devil we did with 'em...
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Movie: ID: 770682613 Title: Me and Orson Welles Release Date: 2009-11-25 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Ich & Orson Welles (DE)
While the story may be a tried and true method - young high schooler is in the right place at the right time and fate allows him to be included in the production of Caesar - where the film truly shines is when it focuses on the production and the whirlwind who stirs the drink, Orson Welles. In a fantastic and Oscar worthy performance Christian McKay brings the man to life, warts and all. His charisma, his charm, his insecurities are all on display and after the first five minutes you truly feel that you are watching Welles in action.
Director Richard Linklater wonderfully decided to film this piece in a decidedly 1940-50's noir style. From the way each scene is set up to the way the characters interact - all solidly inside the genre.
The ensemble acting is solid as is the brazen, self confident youth portrayed by Zac Efron, and the so called love interest in the story, portrayed by Claire Danes. It all works, but it is McKay as Welles who demands your attention. The script has a few flaws and occasionally teeters towards the melodrama that you find in the noir style, but there are gems aplenty here. For example, when a couple of actors are talking with Efron and saying that in a book, all the "action" (read sex) takes place during the quadruple space. Meaning that the book will give you a lead up like "they looked longingly into each others eyes and then she reached over and turned out the lights". "The next morning..." - see, the action happened during those extra spaces.
There is also a wonderful scene where Welles reads a segment of The Magnificent Ambersons (which he later made into a film) to Efron and then manages to ad lib the passage into a radio broadcast he takes part in an hour later.
Through it all you get a glimpse at the genius that was Welles through his production of Julius Caesar. In 1937 fascism was on the rise, so staging the play in modern garb gave an entirely different spin to the tale. You also see how Welles was in control of every aspect of the production - this was his vision, from stage cues to how and when the orchestra would be heard from. The filming of opening night was wonderful and the film could have easily ended with Welles looking out at the standing ovation and asking himself "how am I going to ever top this?" That the film didn't end here was a slight misstep, as it tried to show that the film was really more about Efron than Welles - but we all know better.