This film tells parallel stories of the man who played Superman and the slump in his his career - and a private detective hired to investigate his apparent suicide. The first story is by far the stronger with - and I never thought I would say this - a strong performance by Ben Afflect who portrays Georges Reeves as having an all-American boyish charm with an underlying sadness. The Adrian Brody story felt slightly over-egged - with too many plot twists and dead ends - almost as if it was trying too hard to be Chinatown. But there are some really wonderful moments in this film - especially when Reeves' agent laments the end of the classic age of Hollywood and studio system which produced stars such as Reeves - and the rise of the 'mumbling actors'. If you liked Chinatown and LA Confidential you will like this - although to be fair it is not in the same class as these films - but far better than the Black Dahlia released earlier this year.
I watched it as a detective whodunnit but it is quite possible to see this film as a pastiche of 30's Hollywood or indeed to see it as a biography of Superman. I'll be honest I am not a great fan of Hollywood and did not appreciate that side of it though there will be many who will. They would rate it higher. As a detective film its quite good.