phd_travel It's always watchable to look into the lives of Hollywood legends so the subject matter of this movie makes one want to watch it through. Although the focus of this movie is James Dean's visit home to Indiana and that isn't that interesting.Unfortunately Dane DeHaan is so different looking from James Dean that it spoils the movie. His face is roundish and he just doesn't have the right look. James Franco was a much better fit way back when he did the TV movie. There must have been some actor out there who looked more like the subject. Also having the photographer better looking than the movie star made things unbelievable. Robert Pattinson has been struggling to get the right role after you know what and he is a good actor.Disappointing.

nikolobg A movie about James Dean stands or falls by the portrayal of the man. Everything else is secondary to capturing that unique mesmerizing person.I am a straight male, yet I remember the first time I googled that name and started browsing his photos. There was something there completely out of the ordinary. Strength with fragility, sadness with mischievousness, rebellion resting in the moment. Its like watching young Marlon Brando or Ryan Gosling in a movie like Drive, there is something extraordinary there your brain cant define but can understand.Dane DeHaan, who I don't know outside of this movie, could probably portray Justin Bieber just fine, but playing James Dean requires a different beast of an actor all together.

Paul Evans Life Magazine photographer Dennis Stock forms an attachment and gets to spend time and photograph a young James Dean in the early stages of his tragically short career. Set around the time of the announcement of the engagement of Pier Angeli to Vic Damone, the news sent Dean spiralling into depression, Dean having dated Angeli previously. Dennis recognises that 'Jimmy' is part of a change in society, and aims to be there throughout.James Dean is a truly iconic figure, to this day his tragic loss is felt, who knows how good an actor he would have become. It's a very sensitive film, everything is subtle and softly done somehow, I include the two leading performances in that summary also, I thought Dane DeHaan was an excellent piece of casting as James Dean, I bought into him. As for R Patz I quite like him as an actor, I question some of the roles he takes, I thought he was very good in this. The gravitas came from Ben Kingsley, who unfortunately didn't get a great amount of screen time.I find the start a little slow, but after the first thirty or forty minutes it really opens up. Rather good, underrated movie, 7/10

David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. The film's title has multiple meanings: "Life" Magazine as the source for the famous photographs we have seen so many times; the crossroads in "Life" of both rising star James Dean and photographer Dennis Stock; and a philosophical look at "Life" - how quickly things can change, and how we should appreciate the moments.Director Anton Corbijn (A Most Wanted Man, The American) and screenwriter Luke Davies offer up a snapshot of 1955 as the not-quite-yet-famous James Dean (Dane DeHaan) traveled cross-country with photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) from Los Angeles to New York to Indiana. Each man was searching for their true self as Stock's professional ambition and personal stress are palpable, while 24 year old Dean's ambivalence about his pending superstardom borders on self-destructive.DeHaan and Pattinson both underplay their roles, and it's certainly more than a little confusing to see Pattinson in a movie about James Dean where he is not the actor playing the icon. DeHaan captures the low key, soft-spoken side of Dean but only teases at the "rebel" studio head Jack Warner (Sir Ben Kingsley) wanted so badly to control. We get a feel for Dean's vision of challenging roles in quality productions … a commitment to the art of acting he no doubt sharpened in his time with acting guru Lee Strasberg. The story leans more heavily to the tale of photographer Stock, which is unfortunate, because he is significantly more awkward than interesting. Pattinson plays him as a social misfit who broods nearly as much as the "moody" young actor he is stalking through the streets.The period look is well appointed, and we are privy to some of the moments of Dean's life just prior to the release of East of Eden and his being cast in Rebel Without a Cause. His relationship with Pier Angelli (Alessandra Mastronardi), friendship with Eartha Kitt (Kelly McCreary), and his bond to the family and farm of his childhood in Indiana are all captured. In fact, it's the clumsy relationship with Stock that comes across as the least realistic portion … though it may very well have happened this way. Even the manner in which the famous photographs were taken is underplayed … although it makes for a terrific tie-in with the closing credits where the real Stock/Life Magazine photographs are displayed.It's now been 60 years that James Dean has exemplified Hollywood "cool", a label that can never be removed due to his tragic death in 1955 after making only three films. Capturing the essence of what made Dean cool is unnecessary because it's present in every scene of those three films, as well as the photographs taken by Dennis Stock. That's all the legacy either man needs.