Shadows on the Wall

Outcome

dir Jonah Hill
scr Jonah Hill, Ezra Woods
prd Jonah Hill, Matt Dines, Jonah Hill, Alison Goodwin, Jonah Hill
with Keanu Reeves, Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, Martin Scorsese, Susan Lucci, Laverne Cox, David Spade, Welker White, Ivy Wolk, Van Jones, Drew Barrymore
release US/UK 10.Apr.26
26/US Apple 1h23

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With a brisk pace and sharp edge, this show business comedy centres around an uptight movie star in crisis. Actor-filmmaker Jonah Hill has fun lampooning his own industry, jokingly naming names while exposing the insecurities of the rich and famous. There are also surprising layers to even the smaller, sillier characters, which allow the film to explore darker, more serious ideas. And in the end, it's unexpectedly warm.

A former child star and two-time Oscar winner, Reef (Reeves) returns from a five-year break due to a drug problem that he'd rather not talk about. Then his high-energy lawyer Ira (Hill) discovers that someone has a compromising video. Reef's childhood best friends (Diaz and Bomer) are his support group, and they help Reef look for who is blackmailing him and what might be on the tape. To get in front of this, Reef decides to apologise to his old manager (Scorsese), his reality-star mother (Lucci) and his on-off ex (White). But it's not them.

As Reef tries to solve this mystery, he continually Googles himself looking for clues. He has a solid reputation as the nicest guy in movies, his friends know that he's secretly a jerk, especially in the throes of addiction. The film dives into Reef's mindset, crippled by doubts and constantly interrupted by fans. But he also believes the myths that swirl around him, and this is what continually strains his relationships.

Reeves is superb as the tightly wound Reef, a complex nice guy who worries about why people might hate him. Diaz and Bomer find enjoyably unexpected rhythms as lively, quick-thinking friends who have been through the wars with Reef, while Hill is hilarious as the foul-mouthed Ira, who quickly assembles a crisis team and has posters of problematic celebrities throughout his office. And in scene-stealing roles, Scorsese and Lucci are extraordinary, both honest and funny, while White delivers a strong emotional gut-punch.

Slicing through the surface, the script says serious things about Hollywood artificiality, exploring the topic with unusually personal resonance. It's far more daring than most industry satires. For example, Lucci's character questions who Reef's apology is for, because all apologies are performative. Perhaps the point is to stop trying to change each other and realise that it might not be about you. Indeed, the script is packed with thought-provoking moments. And perhaps the most salient throwaway idea is a glimpse of Ira's bumper sticker: "Honk if you can separate the art from the artist."

themes, language 8.Apr.26

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