Beyond the Sea
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Movie Reviews of Beyond the Sea
Movie Review: "...he was born to play the part"
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a musical masterpiece; it is not a biography, but a surreal portrait that captures the essence of one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. Bobby Darin was a man of extreme contrasts, a dynamo with "a hot head and a weak heart," living on borrowed time, and making every minute count.
There are song and dance sequences in this polished gem that are reminiscent of the great movie musicals from decades ago, blended into the dramatic story of Darin's life.
Kevin Spacey was born to play Darin. Everything he has done in his immensely talented life has lead to this point. His age is irrelevant, all he needed was a little added to his nose for the transformation to be complete. He spent over five years on this project, to write, direct, and star in this fantastic tribute. Being a big Darin fan since the mid '60s, I was apprehensive about seeing this film, especially when I read that Spacey was singing, but he won me over in the first few minutes of the first scene. His singing is remarkable, and comes very close to the real thing, and the body language sometimes makes me think I'm watching Darin.
The smartest thing Darin ever did was to keep those closest to him people he trusted from his early days, and in this film, Spacey has the finest of actors taking these parts.
Kate Bosworth is marvelous as Sandra Dee, with a walk and subtle tilt of the head that is pure Dee, as well as being incredibly beautiful. John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Greta Scacchi, and Caroline Aaron are all superb, and special mention must be made of William Ulrich, the amazing youngster that plays "Little Bobby Darin" as a child, and an alter ego that follows him throughout the film.
Shot on location in Berlin and London, the cinematography by Eduardo Sera is a marvel, and the choreography by Rob Ashford and the terrific dancers are a joy to watch. The extraordinary skill and brilliance of Spacey's direction and performance makes this film one I can view repeatedly with increased appreciation, and total running time is 118 minutes.
The DVD extras are not to be missed, with a "Making of" piece, and some interesting producer/director commentary.
Movie Review: Now Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darrin
Summary: 5 Stars
The last movie I reviewed, had Jamie Foxx playing Ray Charles, and this time Kevin Spacey plays the late Bobby Darrin, exepct for this time, Darrin has been dead for 3 decades before a movie is made about is life. A lot you may regonzie or not, that Bobby Darrin was born with a bad heart, and passed away on December 20th, 1973. This film version is just barely 2 hours long, and that is a good running time for a film, expect for some tv companies will end this down to at least 90 minutes, to show it in 2 hours, the ones that show movies with commerical breaks. But we have at least a few years before we have to worry about that. And I am sure that you heard, that Kevin Spacey re-recored all of Bobby's hits like Mack the Knife, Splish Slash, and the title tune at London's Abby Studios, now I am wondering why he chose to record them at Abby Studios since he or Bobby Darrin was not from London. When the film begins, Bobby Darrin (Kevin Spacey) is directing a movie about his life, but a then calls out cut, he is so un-happy at this session, that he walks over the soundstage, and is followed by his manger Steve Blauner (John Goodman) and brother-in-law (Bob Hoskins), and who is spots his the youngster (William Ullrich) that is playing him a child, and gives him his life story, of that he was born with a bad heart, and was precited to pass away before the age of 15, and to everyone's surpise makes it pass it. Some of the other parts to this story has him metting his wife Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) on the set of Come Septemember, and they get married, even through she is younger then she really is, earlier this year the real Sandra Dee passed away, she and Bobby Darrin was married from 1960-1967, and I am sure that plenty of Bobby Darrin fans loved to seen Kevin Spacey in this film playing their hero, and Spacey also sings Bobby Darrin's tunes.Movie Review: An Open Letter to Kevin Spacey
Summary: 5 Stars
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for reviving interest in one of the truly great singers of the 20th century. Bobby Darin was a teen idol during my teen years. Your movie, so lovingly made and beautifully acted, brought back so many wonderful memories that I sat there in the theater and cried with joy. An 8th grade sock hop where everyone was jumping to "Splish Splash," a dj-call in show where my current crush dedicated "Dream Lover" to me, and the reassuring and hopeful lyrics of "Beyond the Sea" that played in my mind during some of high school's darker moments are just some of the many memories your movie brought back. I'm sure anyone of my generation who was tuned in to music would love this movie. But my 21-year old daughter whom I coerced into going with me also loved it and we plan on scouring amazon for all the remastered CD's and DVD's on this great and talented man, Bobby Darin.
Speaking of great and talented, you have outdone yourself on this one. We all knew you were a fine actor, but to see you singing and dancing and obviously loving it and imitating Bobby's style and moves so uncannily well must have brought as much joy to you as it did to all of us fortunate enough to have seen this movie.
Seeing Bobby's love affair with Sandra Dee played out on the screen was great and brought back all those hours my friends and I spent pouring over issues of "Photoplay" to read anything about the super couple.
Even those not blessed with memories of Bobby from his heydey will fall in love with this movie for its songs alone. From the snappy "Mack the Knife" opening to the tearful closing, this movie is great and one I will definitely get on DVD when available.
Thank you, Kevin Spacey. This is your masterpiece.
Movie Review: Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who cannot "suspend disbelief" in order to enjoy a musical, this movie, and my review, is not for you. For the rest of us, "Beyond the Sea" is a delight.
I read critics who said Kevin Spacey is too old to pull off a
20-something Bobby Darin. Wrong! Kevin Spacey's acting captures the essence of BD; after the first ten minutes of the movie it seemed that Kevin Spacey WAS Bobby Darin irrespective of age. I also read critics who said Spacey's dancing was stiff and awkward. Wrong! The production numbers were fabulous. His singing, acting, dancing were awesome, and it's a performance that should not be short-changed in this year's awards' season (although I fear it might be overlooked).
Kate Blodgett, too, did a great job of portraying Sandra Dee (but I wish they had kept her hairstyles more true to Sandra Dee of the 1960's).
My only disappointment is that so many important details about Bobby Darin's life were quickly glossed over or totally omitted. For example, there was no mention of his early years in the Pocono's; his unfulfilled romance with Connie Francis; his friendship with Dick Clark; his songwriting collaboration with Don Kirshner; and his subsequent marriage after divorcing Sandra Dee.
Nevertheless, I loved "Beyond the Sea" and plan to see it again this week. I'm afraid it won't still be in the theaters next week. It almost appears as though some of Hollywood and the newsprint critics have dissed it with almost a jealousy toward Kevin Spacey's Herculean efforts to bring this to the screen, not to mention his compelling performance.
I don't know if it will attract a younger viewing audience; but, if you're a Baby Boomer, this is a must-see.
Movie Review: Simply the best - great job, Kevin!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the MOVIE OF THE YEAR to to me. Kevin Spacey did a tremendous job as Darin--his voice is quite similiar and, candidly, I had my doubts that he could pull it off. But he did and quite effectively. To this extent, I give this movie the nod over "Ray". A labor of love (I believe Kevin when he states this), it was a movie long overdue and would not have hit the screen at all without Spacey's persistence. Job well done!
If the movie was deficit in any way, it was that it did not reflect (adequately, in my opinion) Darin's tremendous abilities not only as a singer/composer but also as a performer on multiple instruments which he commonly incorporated into his show. He did this so effectively that he set the stage for other "super" performers to follow--such as Wayne Newton, who "also" mastered a variety of instruments and displayed his talent for same in concert. In regards to Newton, if you ever listen to Newton's version of "Bill Bailey", it is almost an exact duplicate of Darin's rendition, done years prior.
Darin's style had a niche of it's own in popular music in which, in the confines of that niche, he was "King". He did not achieve the fame of Sinatra, his idol. But he did define himself and an entertainer in styles of music that Sinatra never mastered.
While I have an extensive collection of Darin CD's and listen to them often, the soundtrack to "Beyond the Sea" with Spacey singing is a real treat. The DVD will be a MUST HAVE for Darin fans and if you have not seen this movie, Darin fan or no--you ought to work it in! It's just that well done and speaks volumes of an era which, frankly, was simpler and in many ways a better time.