Albino Alligator hardly established Kevin Spacey as a film director. An unfocused mess, the movie veered from clichéd melodrama to rather poor comedy. I think Spacey is a tremendous actor, but I was rather worried about how Beyond the Sea would turn out.
As a result I am delighted to report that I had a hell of a good time with this movie. Although it still wasn't perfect I can safely say this is a film which will provide you with a lot of good, old-fashioned fun.
Some scenes are rather clichéd, and the movie seems determined to portray Darin as a saint: he stands up for black people, he's an amazing husband, his son loves him dearly and so on and so forth. One could also question Spacey's casting of himself: he's far too old to play the role, and as a result its very easy to mistake this film for a vanity piece.
Nevertheless the movie is great fun. If you're a big fan of Darin (which I certainly am) you'll have a whale of a time, and even those who have never heard of the great singer will surely get a lot out of the toe-tapping classics such as 'Mack the Knife' and 'Splish-Splash'. But the real standout is Spacey's amazing direction. The shots are all tremendously well thought out and the musical scenes are truly exceptional. Spacey throws you right into the moment, giving the film a sense of fun and energy. Only Bob Fosse has managed to handle musical numbers quite this well.
It would have been nice to see a few more complex characters: all of the main players are saints. No one drinks or gambles or even swears. There's not a single flawed character in the movie but hey, when you're having this much fun you don't really give a damn.
Spacey sings most of Darin's classics with great vigour and energy. The young Bobby isn't nearly as talented, but again you look over the movie's flaws when you're enjoying yourself so much.
In a way Beyond the Sea feels like an old-school musical. This is most probably a deliberate choice as it fits in nicely to Darin's life and in particular his rather clichéd, meteoric rise to fame.
So now I've rambled through this review I think I'm about done. All I can say is this definitely a flawed movie, but still very very fun. For a while it wasn't going to be screened over here in Oz seeing as we're in that 'other' hemisphere. But I must say I'm very glad it did.
As a result I am delighted to report that I had a hell of a good time with this movie. Although it still wasn't perfect I can safely say this is a film which will provide you with a lot of good, old-fashioned fun.
Some scenes are rather clichéd, and the movie seems determined to portray Darin as a saint: he stands up for black people, he's an amazing husband, his son loves him dearly and so on and so forth. One could also question Spacey's casting of himself: he's far too old to play the role, and as a result its very easy to mistake this film for a vanity piece.
Nevertheless the movie is great fun. If you're a big fan of Darin (which I certainly am) you'll have a whale of a time, and even those who have never heard of the great singer will surely get a lot out of the toe-tapping classics such as 'Mack the Knife' and 'Splish-Splash'. But the real standout is Spacey's amazing direction. The shots are all tremendously well thought out and the musical scenes are truly exceptional. Spacey throws you right into the moment, giving the film a sense of fun and energy. Only Bob Fosse has managed to handle musical numbers quite this well.
It would have been nice to see a few more complex characters: all of the main players are saints. No one drinks or gambles or even swears. There's not a single flawed character in the movie but hey, when you're having this much fun you don't really give a damn.
Spacey sings most of Darin's classics with great vigour and energy. The young Bobby isn't nearly as talented, but again you look over the movie's flaws when you're enjoying yourself so much.
In a way Beyond the Sea feels like an old-school musical. This is most probably a deliberate choice as it fits in nicely to Darin's life and in particular his rather clichéd, meteoric rise to fame.
So now I've rambled through this review I think I'm about done. All I can say is this definitely a flawed movie, but still very very fun. For a while it wasn't going to be screened over here in Oz seeing as we're in that 'other' hemisphere. But I must say I'm very glad it did.