Christopher Plummer in "Man in the Chair." (Photos provided by the Heartland for The Star)

Christopher Plummer growls, curses and spits as a washed-up Hollywood crewman in "Man in the Chair," an ode to celluloid dreamers of all ages.

Fans of the actor known for his elegant carriage and crisp diction may be taken aback by Glen "Flash" Madden, a shambling, unshaven wreck of a man who burbles his words around the lip of a bourbon bottle in a brusque cadence of "dese and dose." It's an unflinching portrayal of a mean fellow made meaner by decades of booze and disappointment but given one last shot at the big time.

Actually, it's a shot at the small time, but with big import. Cameron (Michael Angarano), a punk high school kid with notions of winning a scholarship to film school, enlists the octogenarian gaffer to help him make a student film. He first spots the old coot hollering at the screen at classic film revivals, retorting to complaining patrons that "I've made more movies than you've been to!"

A gaffer, for those not in the know, is in charge of the lighting on a movie set. Madden got his nickname from Orson Welles himself, while making "Citizen Kane," who was furious when a malfunctioning light flared, ruining his shot. The flashback scene, with its gorgeous sharp contrasts and shadows, is a showcase for the wonderful cinematography by Dana Gonzalez.

Cameron bribes Flash with a supply of Cuban cigars and Wild Turkey to ensure his aid. The kid's got only the fuzziest of notions of what kind of movie he wants to make -- something about skateboarders, maybe? -- until Flash introduces him to his friend Mickey Thompson (M. Emmet Walsh), a legendary screenwriter now doddering away in a filthy nursing home.

The squalid conditions inspire the kid to make a short film about the state of elderly care, and soon Flash has recruited Mickey and a crew of aging, forgotten filmmakers from the Hollywood retirement home.

Writer/director Michael Shroeder brings an insider's perspective to this story dripping with nostalgia for old Hollywood. Only a movie-crazy kid like Cameron, looking to steal a car for a joyride, would pick an exact replica of the candy-apple red Impala from the horror film "Christine." Even the movie's title refers to the director of a movie -- a profession Flash dismisses as "above-the-line wankers."

The film's boldness in portraying Flash as a completely miserable man unfortunately doesn't extend to its ending, which takes the obvious, easy choice and dives right in. There's also a false ring to the subplot of Cameron's rivalry with a rich kid making his own movie. (Why would a guy whose dad can shell out $20,000 for a student film care about a scholarship?)

Still, "Man in the Chair" hits most of the right notes in a familiar song about the old schooling the young.