There was a test screening of PLEASANTVILLE a couple of weeks ago that went unheard of. However, due to the press the site has been getting, people that attended the screening, though at the time they didn't know it, have stepped forward to review it for us. And the word? FANTASTIC! I've had two 'full' reviews and about 5 'mini' reviews, all of which were very very positive. I tend to like to go with 'full' reviews because that way you can see the thought processes of the spy in question. This first spy is known to me as Inky Dinky Doo...
I am pleased to contribute a review of PLEASANTVILLE, a film that was previewed Thursday night at the General Cinema theatre in Sherman Oaks, Ca. The film is scheduled to be released this fall. So far it has flown under your radar which is why I’m happy to be the first one to bring it to your attention. In short this film has “sleeper hit” written all over it. Let the buzz begin.
PLEASANTVILLE is written and directed by Gary Ross, the Academy Award nominated writer of “big” and “Dave”. He should be a lock for another nomination, possibly two, with this effort.
The film is about a contemporary pair of teenaged siblings (played by Toby Maquire and Reese Witherspoon) who, with the help of a rather strange TV repairman, played by none other than Don Knotts (sufice to say that this character is Barney Fife’s crazy twin), are remote-controlled back to Pleasantville, a fictional, black and white town that serves as the location and title of a 1950’s “Father Knows Best”-type sitcom. The pair find themselves playing the son and daughter of the most textbook perfect parents (William H. Macy and Joan Allen) this side of Ward and June Cleaver.
Very quickly the siblings’ jaded 1990’s sensibilities clash comically and dramatically with the accepted norms of Pleasantville. Eventually brother and sister turn the one dimensional, conformist citizenry of this staid, black and white community into vibrant, free thinking individuals inhabiting a technicolor wonderland. But the transformation works both ways. Before being remote controlled back to their real home the siblings gain a perspective on life that cuts through the cynicism and dysfunction of their own lives in post-modern America. A humorous fairy tale, a clever send-up of TV sitcom conventions, and a subversive satire of Orwellian proportions all rolled into one, PLEASANTVILLE is that rare Hollywood film that is actually about something while being immensely entertaining. Ross brilliantly manages to orchestrate the seemingly discordant tones of the story into a harmonious whole that left the audience laughing and teary eyed, sometimes both simultaneously.
Though the film was presented in rough-cut form the gradual transformation of characters, places and objects from black and white into color is skillfully accomplished, providing a great example of how special effects can be artfully utilized to serve a story rather than dominate it. After seeing PLEASANTVILLE many in the audience will never look at a rose, even wallpaper, the same way again.
Enough can’t be said of the uniformly fine performances Ross coaxed from his cast: Macy as the quintessential sitcom dad whose world is turned upside down is both hilarious and touching. I’m betting that his rain soaked plea, “Where’s my dinner!?!” will be the “Show me the money!” of 1998. Joan Allen turns in a tour de force portrayal of a submissive housewife remade into a free willed woman ready to experience whatever life has to offer (her first masturbatory experience sets a tree on fire! Don’t ask...). It’s as if her Pat from “Nixon” is finally liberated. Jeff Daniels as the soda shop owner who longs to be an artist and J.T. Walsh as Pleasantville’s Joseph McCarthy-like mayor also give memorable turns. As the instigators of all the fun and trouble Toby Maquire and Reese Witherspoon are quite affecting and give the most dimensional performances of their young careers.
Enough can’t be said of Ross’s sure hand in his first directorial effort. The same subtley and nuance he displays as a screenwriter are on display here as a director. His images resonate as clearly as his dialogue. I don’t know what his biggest achievement is--that he could get a film like this made within the Hollywood studio system (the film was produced by New Line) or that the film turned as well as it did.
Harry, you heard it here first, PLEASANTVILLE is the place to be!
Then we have Wimpy, who while chomping down on a platter of burgers stumbled across another screening of PLEASANTVILE, here's his report...
Love "Aint it cool" and glad to see you're growing. I was recently in Los Angeles and I was recruited for a test screening of a movie called "Pleasantville". I was blown away to say the least. I would normally never do this but I've written a review for your readers. So here goes:
PLEASANTVILLE Test Screening
Well thank God! At last somebody with some balls. That somebody is writer/director Gary Ross, who along with New Line Cinema (also showing balls of their own lately; Boogie Nights), just made a movie called Pleasantville.
In a time of “Big Star” driven, shallowly entertaining movies with huge special effects and astronomical budgets, comes a wonderful fairy tale full of meaning, enlightenment, incredible performances and more special effects than any of those others not mentioned.
Tobey Maguire(Ice Storm, Deconstructing Harry) and Reese Witherspoon(Fear, Twilight) star as two teen siblings, caught in the 90’s doldrums, who are mysteriously transported back into a 50’s, “Leave it to Beaver” TV sitcom town known as Pleasantville. When they infiltrate this stagnant, but happy and wholesome community with their 90’s “free-spirit” mentality...well I won’t give it away, but what ensues is a brilliant metamorphosis that has you falling off the edge of your seat and leaves you thinking... DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID? It leaves you thinking -- about your life...your generation... your beliefs! I can’t remember the last time a movie left me doing that!
Pleasantville also stars Joan Allen and William H. Macy as very convincing “Cleavers” and Jeff Daniels who turns in his best performance since Terms of Endearment. And, there’s another much beloved actor who appears, but it’s too great a surprise to give it away now.
Maguire and Witherspoon are perfectly paired and deliver amazing performances, proving that they will soon hold a spot among the heavyweights in the movie business.
Honest to God, this thing is great. The guy next to me turned to the girl he was with and said “Why can’t they do this all the time?”. It’s a good question. These guys did it. Why can’t everybody else?
