‘Maps to the Stars’ Delves into the Dark Side of Hollywood

Hollywood is a dangerous place for the weak and “Maps to the Stars” explores just that. It has fame, fortune, incest and murder all wrapped up in an A-list cast.

Having done well at Cannes and then faring moderately well in Canada, “Maps to the Stars” is one of those films that be a hit among thespians rather than the masses. It’s for cinephiles, those who like a story filled with girth and not high-tech explosions. For the only thing bursting in this film is the drama that surrounds each character.

Julianne Moore leads the cast as Havana, an actress suffering her own demons as she deals with the death of her mother and keeping her own career fresh. It’s Mia Wasikowska though who steals the show as Agatha. She’s new to Hollywood in search of answers. She employs Robert Pattinson as her driver and heads to the home of child star Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird). Through twists and turns, she and Weiss’ pasts are intertwined and a royal mess thanks to his parents played by John Cusack and Olivia Williams. What appears to be a movie about just the highs and lows of the entertainment industry unravels to reveal the dark reality of its stars.

Moore is a delightful mess as Havana, and that’s no surprise. She’s an award-winning actress on the path of winning another Oscar this year for her portrayal of a women coping with Alzheimer’s in “Still Alice.” Audiences have seen this side of her and Cusack before now. That’s not the case for Wasikowska and Pattinson.

They’ve both done drama. She in “Jane Eyre” and “The Kids are Alright” and he in “Water for Elephants,” but that’s not how they’re widely known. She broke out thanks to Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and he’ll forever be known as Edward Cullen from the “Twilight” series. This may be the movie that takes her to the next level. It’s too early in the game to consider the 2016 Oscars, but who knows?

“Maps to the Stars” opens in theaters Feb. 27.