When you think of Marlon Brando, it’s expected that the image of the overly intense, vaguely misanthropic method actor known for proclaiming “I could’ve been a contender” in On the Waterfront, shouting to his beloved Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire or planning to make an offer no one could refuse in The Godfather, all of which are just a small sample of his cultural importance and ongoing reputation as arguably the greatest actor in history. However, very rarely do we get the opportunity to see him as he truly was, a rambunctious, free-spirited bon vivant with a lust for life and a desire to live a life of a libertine as far as possible, while also never abandoning his own morals. As is often the case with public figures who have always been seen in one particular way, we can find interesting observations contained in the stories of those who knew them. In this case, we’re introduced to Bernard Judge, a world-renowned architect known for being one of the pioneers in sustainable design, most of whose work takes into account issues of environmental concern, long before it became fashionable. His connection with Brandon started in the late 1960s, when he was enlisted to fly to Brando’s home in Tahiti, where he was commissioned to design and initiate construction on his house, which he intended to be a paradise that showcased the island’s beauty without robbing it of an ounce of its resources or negatively impacting the natural surroundings or the people who called the region their home. What started as a relatively simple assignment turned into a decades-long friendship between two unlikely companions, and which has now become the subject for Waltzing with Brando, in which Bill Fishman, working from a screenplay he wrote based on Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti in which Judge places down his recollections of this period, dramatises these events into a charming and offbeat comedy that attempts to explore this unconventional dynamic. A film that we can respect more than we actually embrace, but which still has some merits, Waltzing with Brando is a solid work, albeit one that needed slightly more work to actually reach its full potential.

There are a few subjects that Hollywood loves more than itself, and any opportunity to explore the life and career of one of its many iconic offspring is going to be embraced with gusto. That’s something that informs Fishman’s approach when he set out to assemble Waltzing with Brando, which follows a string of films based around Hollywood culture that he has made over the past couple of decades, none of which really registered as being particularly special but still having potential of its own. In the case of this film, we have the story of an unconventional friendship between an iconic movie star, who lived life on the edge and was profoundly unapologetic about his eccentricities and the skittish young architect who gradually became one of his closest friends. This is already fertile ground for a terrific film, and one that knows exactly how to hold our attention, at least in initiating some intriguing conversations. The concept of a buddy comedy between Brando and Judge is enticing, and the film uses this as a springboard to explore the subject of fame, which it does through an elegant, meaningful examination of two people who exist on entirely different planes, but who are equally beloved within their chosen fields. Brando is the perpetual sex symbol who flourished into the greatest actor of his generation, and whose visage is still immediately recognisable, while Judge lived mainly in the shadows, flourishing as a creative individual but rarely wanting to occupy the spotlight. In looking at two individuals who thrived in their respective fields, Waltzing with Brando manages to become quite an intriguing character study an odd couple comedy about two seemingly mismatched individuals who find each other and immediately become kindred spirits, their common ground being that they were both wholeheartedly committed to executive the grand vision for this project that they both sincerely believe will be their masterpiece, the creation of which fuels a lifelong friendship that is rarely discussed when looking at Brando’s notoriously offbeat and diverse social life, which makes Waltzing with Brando feel like it is unlocking an entirely new side of this global icon.

In terms of casting, we get instances where someone is cast based on talent, and others because of looks. In the case of Waltzing with Brando, we find a blend of the two. Billy Zane spent decades being compared to Brando, solely because they shared a striking physical resemblance, and one that only became clearer the more Zane aged and began to seemingly transform into an older Brando as the years progressed. Many will argue that the only reason this film exists was to allow Zane to finally achieve his dream of playing Brando on screen – and while this is certainly true based on how much work went into bringing this film to life, we can easily accept it solely through looking at the extraordinary work Zane did to bring his performance to life. This is the very definition of a passion project, which is reflected in every moment he is on screen – this isn’t just someone that looks like the person he is playing, but rather an actor embodying everything about Brando that we know and appreciate, while also giving insights into how he interpreted the great actor when he wasn’t in the presence of a camera, and could instead be himself, regardless of the cost. Zane is wonderful and earns our respect for being committed to his intention to portray Brando, giving him the respect and admiration he deserved, which can only come from someone who truly appreciated his work. Jon Heder, unfortunately does not fare quite as well – not only does he have the unenviable task of playing the “square” architect to Zane’s effortlessly cool movie star, he does struggle to turn Judge into anything more than a walking stereotype, the kind of bland milquetoast who occupies the central role in a fish-out-of-water tale, but does very little with it. Arguably, this is the result of the film not being particularly clear about its intentions, and being more focused on Zane’s very impressive mimicry, leaving Heder to only work from the scraps, one of the many shortcomings of a film that does seem to have some trouble finding a coherent and clear point of view throughout.

To understand where the film falters, we have to do something quite peculiar: state that the biggest merit of the film is also the reason that it doesn’t work. Zane is tremendous in the film, but there is so much focus towards the fact that he is a dead ringer for Brando that the film itself never really amounts to anything all that valuable beyond his solid performance. Waltzing with Brando is a film without a coherent point of view or a particularly meaningful approach to its subject matter, which is immediately going to be something of an impediment to a film that was already working on a very thin premise. Aside from being a relatively solid backstage drama about Brando and his process, one that attempts to deviate from the usual tendency to portray him as some self-serious actor, it instead wanted to show that he had a sense of humour and a genuine lust for life. There is not much else to say beyond this, and it eventually becomes quite frustrating to see the extent to which the film is willing to go to explore how Brando was not entirely defined by his public reputation, but not do nearly enough with that premise after a while. There’s so much potential to comment on Hollywood, celebrity culture and the cult of fame, but it ultimately doesn’t say anything we couldn’t figure out on our own, which is quite disappointing. It also doesn’t help that the film is tonally quite inconsistent – it isn’t ever sure if it wants to be an off-the-wall comedy, or a more sombre drama – and while it could technically be both, it never strikes the right balance, becoming quite heavy-handed in moments where levity would be preferred, or the inverse, where there is too much humour when sincerity would be the ideal option. The emotional tug-of-war doesn’t have any real payoff, and eventually just reiterates everything we already know for the most part. It’s a relatively weak film once we get past the central plot dynamics, and it never really does much to convince us of its merits beyond being mildly trivial at the best of times.

Waltzing with Brando is a film that is built on a single idea (namely that its star has a striking resemblance to another iconic actor), and while this is good enough to hold our attention for a few scenes, the novelty quickly wears off and we find it replaced with an increasingly meandering attempt at both comedy and drama that never truly lands, being more limited in scope than it should have been, especially with the amount of potential it had to say something resonant or at least vaguely interesting. It is worth seeing for Zane alone, since his passion for the material is enough to sustain the film for the most part, but it is never going to be seen as anything more than a very dedicated passion project by someone who worked laboriously to bring his vision to life, not doing nearly enough to keep us invested beyond the central premise. It’s meandering and doesn’t ever truly find a coherent point of view, choosing instead to focus on the insincere little details that may be entertaining, but are hopelessly cliched, which seem out of place in a story that would have benefited from a bit more coherence and simplicity. It’s a decent film at times, but it never really achieves anything special – and as a result, we find that it is quickly forgotten, never settling in our minds enough to remember it beyond a handful of brief moments, such as the recreations of Brando’s performances, where the eerie similarities between Zane and the actor are the centrepiece. It’s well-executed mimicry and nothing else, and while it doesn’t disqualify the film or make it unworthy of our time, it does feel slightly too insincere, which is an enormously disappointing outcome for a film with this much promise and potential.