CASEY PHILLIPS: In a movie like “Me and Orson Welles,” the casting director is under a lot of pressure to put the right person in the lead role. Fortunately, Lucy Beva knew her business when she pegged Christian McKay to play the legendary director/writer.
The film centers on how Welles commanded the acting company at New York’s Mercury Theatre through sheer strength of will and personality. Although he’s a relative unknown in the film world, McKay’s performance exudes the confidence and arrogance that made Welles both idolized and feared. McKay’s history as a stage actor served him well in delivering on Welles’ bravado and snake-oil charms, even he comes across as too dramatic at times.
Actually, the whole production feels slightly out of step with reality, which is fitting for a group of thespians drunk on perceived glamour. Also, the lighting is oversaturated to the point that skin glows and the sets take on a fantastic cast.
HOLLY LEBER: It does take on a fantastical element, yes, but “Me and Orson Welles” also sucks the audience right into that fantasy. The sets and costumes captured the ambiance of 1937 well; watching the movie felt like a time travel, if a discombobulating one. Recalling the waiting world of 2010 outside the theater in the midst of the screening was a bit jarring.