There’s some clever filmmaking in The Actor, and Duke Johnson shows clear talent for building tone and texture. But the movie ultimately plays like a well-shot mood piece that doesn’t quite know what it wants to say. André Holland stars as an amnesiac trying to piece together who he is and how he ended up in a small town he’s never heard of.
‘The Actor’ Movie Review
The Actor (2025), the solo directorial debut of Anomalisa co-director Duke Johnson, is a moody, visually intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying dive into identity and memory that struggles to find a compelling center. Starring André Holland as a man with no memory and even less direction, the film flirts with the thematic territory of Johnson’s previous collaboration with Charlie Kaufman—who serves here as an executive producer—but lacks the poignancy or clarity of voice that made Anomalisa so staggering.
Set in a mysterious and slightly off-kilter small town that feels untethered from time, The Actor follows Paul Cole (Holland), an amnesiac trying to piece together who he is and how he ended up there. With no money, no job, and only fleeting glimpses of his past, Paul drifts through interactions with characters played by May Calamawy, Asim Chaudhry, Toby Jones, and Gemma Chan. Each encounter hints at something meaningful, but few truly resonate. Where Anomalisa burrowed deep into the malaise of modern existence through intimate character work and surreal stylistic choices, The Actor feels like it’s chasing that same depth but without the narrative scaffolding to support it.
Visually, there’s a lot to admire. Johnson retains a knack for subdued world-building. The muted color palette—burnt oranges, dusty browns, washed-out greys—evokes the eerie sameness and liminality that defined Anomalisa, but now in live action. It’s a world where time feels suspended, where emotion simmers beneath the surface but rarely erupts. Johnson also demonstrates strong command of composition and tone, especially in how he shoots Holland. The actor’s ability to convey complex emotional states through subtle facial expressions is put to excellent use here, giving Paul a depth that the script often withholds.
But where the film falters is in its lack of narrative propulsion. Johnson’s screenplay keeps Paul a blank slate for too long, and the audience never really gets to access his inner world the way we could with Michael in Anomalisa. That earlier film was rich with internal monologue and a sharply defined protagonist perspective. In The Actor, Paul’s amnesia becomes a structural crutch rather than a compelling mystery. As a result, he feels less like a character than a placeholder, and the town around him, while atmospherically rendered, lacks the weird spark or emotional charge of Kaufman’s more immersive worlds in films like Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Adaptation.
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There’s some clever filmmaking here, and Johnson shows clear talent for building tone and texture. But The Actor ultimately plays like a well-shot mood piece that doesn’t quite know what it wants to say. Its central mystery fizzles, and its detours into quirky character vignettes—despite a strong supporting cast—don’t lead to much. It’s a film full of suggestion, but one that offers little resolution or emotional payoff.
Score: 5/10
The Actor (2025)
- Cast: André Holland, Gemma Chan, May Calamawy, Tracey Ullman, Toby Jones
- Director: Duke Johnson
- Genre: Drama, Mystery
- Runtime: 98 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: March 14, 2025
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