James Dean

SINOPSE

Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio were variously linked with this TV biopic of the ultimate troubled teen. But director Mark Rydell (who knew Dean at the Actors Studio) could not have chosen better than James Franco, who follows in the tragic star's Method footsteps and truly lives the part. Whether clashing with his father (Michael Moriarty) or pushing the boundaries of screen acting with Elia Kazan (Enrico Colantoni) and Nicholas Ray (Barry Primus), Franco captures the edginess that made Dean's highly personal style unique. It's just a shame that the tone becomes increasingly gossipy as the focus shifts on to the Tinseltown galaxy.