Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I haven’t heard much good about this film so far. A few people I’ve talked to have actively groaned at the very mention of it. I’ll admit... from where I sit, it smells like a vanity project gone horribly awry, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s enormously entertaining. Today’s reviewer certainly thought so...
Hi Harry,
I have been reading your site for a while but never really got around to dropping you a note about any of the films I've seen. However, i had some time and was looking around today so I figured that it was a good day to start.
I saw a screening last night of Beyond the Sea at the PGA for which Kevin Spacey was present to do a post viewing Q&A.
The movie is not a straight biopic. As a result I will not really say much about how it was put together or arranged except to say that it is done half fantasy/dream and half reality about the adult Bobby Darin directing an autobiographical movie about his life. A film within a film as such. The technique works once you get accustomed to it and is a nice way of doing a movie about a real man and allowing yourself to concentrate on the parts of his life that made him who he was while getting around the ever present complaints over accuracy. Spacey himself said that he used Fellini's 8 1/2 and All that Jazz as reference points as far as being a moviemaker.
One of the first jokes in the film within a film is a character asking Bobby if he isn't too old to play himself. It was good for a chuckle because of the obvious age problem between Spacey and Darin. Spacey already being of an age the Darin never reached. However, I must say that for me the age was a bit of a problem. At times, especially when on stage, Spacey was Bobby Darin. However, frequently I found the obvious age difference between Spacey and Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee a little off putting.
The music and dance is all superb. There are three big song and dance numbers at the beginning, middle and end and they are all first rate. Spacey sings very well and though he said straight off he was just singin in his own voice and not trying to mimic Darin, he has a voice that is not dissimilar and works well. Also, you have to wait for it, but the final number with the little boy who plays Darin as a ten year old is not to be missed.
The supporting cast is wonderful. John Goodman and Bob Hoskins are first rate as Darin's manager and step brother/father figure. Both maintain a solid underlying feeling of care and concern for Darin while being entertaining and charming in their own right. Brenda Blethyn handles herself well as always as Darin's mother and inspiration to music. The revelation for me however was Caroline Aaron who played Darin's "sister". I did not recognize her but she gave a truly heartwrenching performance. Kate Bosworth, I like her, I haven't ever seen her have to really act, but in this film she stands up. For a young actress to be in scenes with Spacey, Goodman, Greta Scacchi and Hoskins and not be lost is saying something. Once or twice she was a little out of her league but on the whole it was a solid performance. I cannot say that another actress comes to mind who would have been an obvious better choice.
After the film Spacey sat and answered questions and was as charming as he always seems to be in interviews. In fact, he did not seem to want to leave. He has obviously managed to make a movie that he has invested so much time, effort, love and creative artistry that he wants it to go for as long as possible. As far as I am concerned, all the best to him for it.
To sum up, the film does not show the harsh realities of Darin quite as closely as a film like Ray but more falls into the De-Lovely category. It is far from perfect and will leave many people exiting the theater saying "Um...what the hell just happened?". However, it is well worth seeing and as people are so obsessed with it this time of year I will go so far as to say that this is a movie that could easily find itself with a bucket of Oscar nominations or none and either way there will be a strong cadre of complainers.
Interesting take. We’ll see when the film opens soon...
"Moriarty" out.
