Me and Orson Welles
Richard Linklater's original coming-of-age story focuses on the young Orson Welles and his legendary 1937 stage production of Julius Caesar.
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Directed by Richard Linklater
(PG-13)
***
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A young Orson Welles makes his Broadway debut.
Me and Orson Welles is a film of “great spirit and considerable charm,” said David Denby in The New Yorker. Director Richard Linklater—the same filmmaker who brought us School of Rock and Dazed and Confused—makes his “first foray into the classics” with this coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of Orson Welles’ legendary 1937 stage production of Julius Caesar. The plot is “conventionally conceived,” but Linklater wisely focuses on Welles himself and the early days of the theater troupe he founded with John Houseman. England’s Christian McKay portrays Welles, who was just 22 when he made his acting and directing debut on Broadway, and Zac Efron plays a 17-year-old who bluffs his way into the Mercury Theatre company. Efron gives a likable yet lackluster performance, said Nathan Rabin in The Onion. The film is at its best when McKay “takes center stage.” As Welles, he is as “blustery, over-the-top, and wildly theatrical” as the real man. McKay commands our attention just as Welles commands his soon-to-be-famous players, said Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. Not only has Linklater given us a snapshot of a young genius but also a “thrilling movie about, of all things, the theater.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
10 things you need to know today: September 30, 2023
Daily Briefing Government shutdown looms after failed House vote, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein dies at 90, and more
By Justin Klawans Published
-
All about Zealandia, the Earth’s potential 8th continent
The Explainer The secret continent went undiscovered for over 300 years
By Devika Rao Published
-
A reckoning over looted art
The Explainer Thousands of artifacts in U.S. and European collections were stolen from their countries of origin. Should they be sent back?
By The Week Staff Published