Or, at least, that’s the official story. Almost immediately after his death rumors began to circulate which claimed that Reeves had actually been murdered. It is these rumors that the film, “Hollywoodland,” attempts to explore, offering up multiple theories about what might’ve happened that night. Did Reeves (played here by Ben Affleck, returning from actor’s limbo with a magnificent performance) pull the trigger? Or was it his fed-up fiancé (Robin Tunney)? Could it have been his former lover, Toni Mannix (a beautiful Diane Lane), who was heartbroken at being dumped for a younger woman? Or was it Toni’s husband, Eddie (Bob Hoskins), tired of being a cuckold?

The film explores all of these ideas through the fictional investigation of Louis Simo (Adrian Brody), a sleazy private eye hired by Reeves’s mother to discover the truth. Simo is incredibly unlikable and a fairly inept detective; that a majority of the story is devoted to him is the film’s biggest weakness. George Reeves’s story is an interesting one and deserves more than to be ham-handedly shoved between the cracks of Simo's cliché detective caper.

“Hollywoodland” feels too long, with subplots about Simo’s tryst with a younger woman and his relationship to his son adding nothing to the story. The multiple theory convention is also poorly handled: I’m willing to buy that maybe Reeves didn’t commit suicide, but some of the suspects’s motives are so flimsy that it’s obvious they couldn’t have killed him. Their inclusion, therefore, just feels like padding on an already bloated story.

“Hollywoodland” starts with a promising mystery but muddles things up along the way. It’s a shame, too, because George Reeves is a truly interesting character, and Affleck’s portrayal of him belongs in a truly amazing film. Sadly, this is not that film.

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