It's 1955 Los Angeles. Photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) is tired of the red carpet. He wants to do a LIFE magazine photo essay on unknown actor James Dean (Dane DeHaan). Editor John Morris (Joel Edgerton) dismisses the idea and ridicules the pictures. Studio head Jack Warner (Ben Kingsley) tries to deal with the flighty new actor. Dean's relationship with Pier Angeli falls apart when she announces her marriage to Vic Damone. Stock follows Dean taking the iconic pictures from New York to his family farm in Indiana. Stock's personal life with his son suffers.
The photos are cultural icons. The story behind the photos is not necessarily that compelling. The real LIFE magazine photos should appear at the beginning. The funniest part of the movie is John Morris' constant dismissal of the unknown actor. Dane DeHaan is a great young actor. Here he mumbles a lot and lacks Dean's brooding. A younger Pattinson would fit much better. His presence only reminds the audience of that. Despite this being Stock's story, this is still James Dean's movie. A top name actor needs to play Dean. The final problem is the movie's name. It's not enough. That's also the story of the movie. It's not enough.
The photos are cultural icons. The story behind the photos is not necessarily that compelling. The real LIFE magazine photos should appear at the beginning. The funniest part of the movie is John Morris' constant dismissal of the unknown actor. Dane DeHaan is a great young actor. Here he mumbles a lot and lacks Dean's brooding. A younger Pattinson would fit much better. His presence only reminds the audience of that. Despite this being Stock's story, this is still James Dean's movie. A top name actor needs to play Dean. The final problem is the movie's name. It's not enough. That's also the story of the movie. It's not enough.