Beyond the Sea
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Movie Reviews of Beyond the Sea
Movie Review: Another love letter to Kevin Spacey
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the great good fortune to see Bobby Darin live over a dozen times. I was a great fan and he was a remarkable entertainer. But through the years, listening to the CDs just wasn't enough. It didn't capture the man or his music as performed live.
Now Kevin Spacey has done the impossible: he brings the Darin I saw back to vivid life from the exact pegging of his pants to his stage gestures. The singing is magic and it would have been impossible to capture the essence of Darin by using his own tracks--this material has to be done "live" and improvised and in a version we have never seen or heard, because the man did a different show every night. I know, I saw 10 shows in a row in Vegas in December 1960 and he never did the same song the same way twice.
My only complaint about the film at all is the actress who plays Sandra Dee. She neither captures the woman, her manner of speaking, nor does she look like her. And the hair is totally wrong.
But this is a small complaint in a film filled with Spacey's brilliance, a really clever and not obtrusive concept for the film's story, and superb performances by Hoskins, Goodman and the boy, and nearly everyone else.
Movie Review: When You Can Do As You Please
Summary: 5 Stars
Kevin Spacey has reached the stage of his career allowing him to do virtually anything he wants. He deserves this opportunity to fulfill a long ambition.
Why is he so taken with the story of Bobby Darin? Well, it's got something to do with his mother, I heard.
In this movie, an exceptionally talented man gets to extend that into not only acting, but also dancing and singing. There are no false notes in the singing (even if it is not exactly what you remember of Bobby Darin's craft). The dancing is spectacular.
So why is this labelled "narcissistic" by some here? Acting itself is inherently narcissism, isn't it? We react to Kevin Spacey's exercise here by resisting any sort of change - people will do that.
I was no fan of Bobby Darin, honestly. But there were moments in this movie that were so amazing and so beautiful that they take your breath away. It's not just about good acting, good dancing, good singing. It's so clear here that this was a work of an honest, possibly lifelong passion, and it shows.
I don't know where this movie's place in history will be. But it was, indeed, a masterpiece.
Movie Review: Spacey Great - Bosworth not very convincing.
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved Kevin Spacey in this movie. Was it the best movie I've ever seen - no. Was it the best one Kevin Spacey has ever been in - no. It was a really good movie with a very clear and convincing message that Kevin Spacey loved Bobby Darin. Kevin is so wonderfully multi-talented that anything he does is worth seeing but he outdid himself here with the singing and dancing. Kate Bosworth is a lovely and talented actress still coming into her own, but I was disappointed in her as a choice for Sanda Dee. She just does not pull off the Sanda Dee look. She has way too "toothy" a smile and comes off in several scenes looking more like Tuesday Weld than pouty faced, doe eyed Sandra Dee. I had to repeatedly remind myself which woman I was supposed to be seeing. If they ever do a movie about Tuesday Weld then Kate should be at the head of the line for the part. All in all - I was not disappointed in the movie and would highly recommend seeing it and enjoying Kevin Spacey's wonderful talent along with the talent of Bob Hoskins and John Goodman in two wonderful supporting roles. I don't think the movie adds much new information on Darin but it was a joy to watch.Movie Review: Shafted by the Academy
Summary: 5 Stars
In what is undoubtedly the most glaring oversight of this year's Academy Awards, Beyond the Sea failed to garner a single nomination. Given the incredibly extraordinary feature film that is Beyond the Sea, I find it inexcusable, if not unconscionable, that Beyond the Sea did not at least muster a Best Director or Best Actor nod for the painstaking yeoman's work that Kevin Spacey put forth to make the life and times of Bobby Darin come alive so magically to those both old and young alike.
Kate Bosworth was absolutely magnificent as Sandra Dee and is no doubt deserving of Oscar consideration as well. Also, I would be remissed if I failed to mention Bob Hoskins(where has he been?), who is superb in his supporting role as Darin's ostensible brother-in-law and confidant. For all of Spacey's hard work to go unrecognized is nothing short of a travesty. To have DiCaprio and The Aviator nominated over Spacey and Beyond the Sea is nothing short of a sympathy vote for Scorsese.
For those more discerning moviegoers (not those in the Academy), Beyond the Sea is more than a mere film...it is an experience.
Movie Review: Here's to Brilliant Experiments
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD is an example of everything I love about DVD releases. Its extras make for an experience that surpasses that of its original release.
To hear the commentary of Kevin Spacy, perhaps America's finest living actor, talk about his process as both an actor and director on this his maiden directorial voyage is outstanding. I haven't enjoyed this type of commentary since the DVD release of Braveheart with Gibson's commentary.
With its unique combination of drama and musical sequences, Beyond the Sea was not a commercial success, but was something more. It was a brilliant experiment in honor of a constant experimentor.
Bobby Darin throughout his career pushed expectations and this film does the same. In fact, its premise even evolves when the premiseof Bobby's life suffers the same kind of dramatic shift.
In reflecting on this, I think it would have been easier for Spacey to craft a box office success than what he created, but what he created is something film students and critics will be talking about in decades to come in the same breath with Citizen Kane.