Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
In 1955, young photographer Dennis Stock develops a close bond with actor James Dean while shooting pictures of the rising Hollywood star.
Life (2015) is a quietly handsome but underpowered biographical drama. Its greatest asset is the cinematography, which evokes 1950s America with genuine period authenticity and composed, magazine-quality imagery befitting its subject. The performances from Dane DeHaan and Robert Pattinson are earnest but uneven — Pattinson's Dean is more pose than person. The plot meanders without much dramatic tension, essentially a series of encounters rather than a propulsive narrative. The ending arrives with little emotional payoff, leaving the relationship between Stock and Dean feeling incomplete. As a biographical film about a celebrity friendship it occupies well-trodden territory, lacking the distinctive voice or perspective needed to set it apart from the crowded prestige biopic genre.