Mr. Arkadin

An incandescent and mesmerizing dumpster fire. The whole is unfortunately less than the sum of its peculiar and remarkable parts, ripped from its creators vision and surviving in various not-quite-correct incarnations. Is this the film which best encapsulates the legacy of Orson Welles?

A mess. Often so over-the-top (Welles, in his urges to do larger-than-life really can be quite pretentious) that it's almost funny... but it never quite works either way. The mystery might've been interesting if the plot wasn't so transparent and preposterous.

It's a good story: kind of a twisted, noir-ish version of Kane, where the identity of a powerful figure is gradually revealed through interviews and flashbacks. There are oodles of spectacular shots. Where it truly fails, however, is the casting of Robert Arden. This is a horrible, horrible actor with zero screen presence. The fact that he dominates the movie, especially in the beginning, makes it a chore to sit through.

I'm just going to call this 'unfinished' and put the blame on the studios for this trainwreck of a film. Naturally there is good cinematography, but it feels tossed together by someone who has no idea how to make a good film. The story (or what I could make of it) seemed rather interesting and it is sad that we will never know what this could have been.

I hate loving this movie and love hating this movie. It's half parody, half mystery, half B movie, half art movie. But it has a second rate, hamfisted theatricality that turns my crank. Welles fans should find it (or what remains of it) interesting.