James Dean

The film puts not Dean's career at the centre but the break between him and his father. He goes to acting school in New York, takes small parts on television, and everything accelerates when Elia Kazan casts him in East of Eden. But Dean wants one thing: for his father to see him. Mark Rydell made it for television, kept it short and concentrated on the years the three films were made. James Franco plays the part without imitation, carrying the restlessness of the character, and won a Golden Globe for it. The story does not try to build the legend; it shows instead how difficult the man was for the people around him. It ends with the crash and prepares for it not at all. Who it is for: viewers who like actors' biographies and fifties Hollywood. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a portrait covering the whole career.