Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A romance sparks between a young actor and a Hollywood leading lady.

Directed by Paul McGuigan. Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Kenneth Cranham, and Julie Walters.

This was a story I didn't know much about, so it was interesting to watch it play out. Annette Bening does an incredible job here, both with capturing the essence of Gloria Grahame and with just acting the part, making her more than just a Norma Desmond knockoff character (which the script itself seems to be pushing for). The use of the nonlinear story is also surprisingly effective, particularly about two thirds of the way through the movie when we revisit an earlier scene and see it again with more context behind it, and it packs more of an emotional punch than I expected. It's an interesting movie that, for the most part, manages to escape the tropeyness the script has in it.

3 stars.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > Talk Radio

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < A Snoodle's Tale

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > Lifeforce

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Young Frankenstein

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Before Sunset

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Brothers

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < My Favorite Year

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Stardust

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < John Carter

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < The Happening

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > John Wick

Final spot: #1084 out of 2898.