Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Color me skeptical about this one. Sounds like a bizarro ego trip from everything I’ve read so far, and this review does little to assuage my fears:
I saw the film “Beyond the Sea” not really knowing a lot about it. I knew that it was part musical and that it starred Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth. But I wasn’t really familiar with Bobby Darrin’s music or his career, so I went into this film with a clean slate.
The film is similar to the 1979 film “All That Jazz,” but this ones about singer Bobby Darin and his struggle with big business, family life, and a heart condition. This film also marks Kevin Spacey’s second directorial attempt since his 1996 film “Albino Alligator.”
It was filmed sort of like a musical documentary. Darin is trying to get a movie about his life in the can, while he is constantly slipping into some sort of alternate reality with the boy playing young Bobby Darin. Sounds confusing? Well it was just a little. It’s like we see the film there making as if THAT is what happened in the past. But they keep stepping away from that once in a while where someone is actually watching the movie. They got around the fact that he is much older looking then the original Darin by making him looking maybe 5 years younger, and sticking him in this alternate reality as older Bobby Darin playing himself at the top of his career.
The highlight of this movie was the acting and the music. Kevin Spacey knocks out another fantastic performance as Bobby Darin, singing and dancing all over the place. He just might get that Oscar nod that I had heard about surrounding this film. Kate Bosworth who plays his wife Sandra Dee is also very good. My only problem with her was at times she was under acting, like she didn’t have her whole heart into what she was saying. Even so I still think she came out on top. I think some of the major highlights actually come from the movies supporting actors, like Bob Hoskins and John Goodman.
At times the film was a bit cliche. Like for instance the younger version of someone telling the older version how better he or she could have lived his or her life. The whole inner child deal has been done to death. Also, there were some down right uncomfortable moments between Spacey and Bosworth. Even though we’re supposed to get over the age difference between them because of the way the film is done, you really just can’t get over them having intimate moments. Those scenes just came off as downright creepy.
In the end when I was marking my little comment sheet, I said the movie was good but it could have been better. Acting and music got high marks off of me, but the movie was just way to long. At some points you just wanted to pull the microphone out of his hand and tell him to end the movie. You can only take so much singing and dancing before it becomes overwhelming. This films appeal is to the older generations; because I doubt anyone younger then 30 will really care about Bobby Darin or his music. The audience I was with was a bit older and seemed to love it, so I’m going off that assumption. I say see it if there is nothing better out, or if you know about Bobby Darin or his music. Otherwise go rent “All That Jazz.”
Winston
I dunno, man. I dunno...
"Moriarty" out.
