ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND THEATER.
In 1937, 17-year-old Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is hired by Orson Welles (Christian McKay) for his production of “Julius Caesar” at the Mercury Theatre in New York, but ends up battling the eccentric director… The story of how Welles put on a Shakespeare play with a contemporary spin that would wow Broadway has its charm in the humorous depiction of backstage tumult. McKay is a perfect pick to play Welles; not only does he bear the physical resemblance, but he also has the larger-than-life attitude that seems positively Wellesian. Entertaining, but Efron’s coming-of-age bit is less interesting.
2009-U.S.-Britain. 114 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Richard Linklater. Novel: Robert Kaplow. Cast: Zac Efron (Richard Samuels), Claire Danes (Sonja Jones), Christian McKay (Orson Welles), Ben Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, Zoe Kazan.