It’s a terrific idea. Exiled in Rome in 1948, filming an Italian B-movie, legendary Hollywood director Orson Welles becomes embroiled in a murder plot involving two femme fatales and sinister Italian fascists. Scripted by John Sayles, with Danny Huston in the lead, what could go wrong?
Well… the script languishes in a Miss Marple netherworld of characters continually explaining why they’re doing what they’re doing. Meanwhile, Huston merely seems lost, frozen somewhere between hammy impersonation and afternoon snooze. It’s like it was assembled by the guy behind the latest St. Trinian’s film. Oh, it was.