Film Review of Beyond the Sea
Year: 2004 Reviewer: Chris Docker
Beyond the Sea 5/10 - easy Sunday night viewing that many will like (but that left me with too many doubts)
Beyond the Sea, a biopic of singer Bobby Darin, seems to be a labour of love by Kevin Spacey, who acts the lead role, scripts, directs, produces, sings and dances. It follows the troubled life of the great singer by way of a retrospective - in our story, Darin is 'playing' himself in a movie about his life and so enters an extended dialogue with the young actor playing the young Bobby.
The scenes where Bobby is wooing Sandra Dee are pure classic musical, with beautiful colours and romantic settings blending one into another, and showing off the romance of songs such as the title track. Also eye opening is the recreation of the clubs era where 'singing at the Copacabana' club was the pinnacle of a soloist's career - if the film has stuck to this crowd pleasing formula throughout it might have been more evenly flowing entertainment. As it is, it ricochets from stage floodlights to domestic disharmony, crooning songs and happy dance numbers to illness and self-loathing. As a biopic, I never for one moment managed to believe I was watching Bobby Darin instead of Kevin Spacey. The story isn't strong enough to stand on its own merit, and as a tribute it would have been nice to hear at least one song sung by the great singer himself. Instead we hear Spacey throughout (yes, he can sing, but not quite in the same league). Even worse is the dancing - Spacey seems to have learnt the steps but looks rather like someone from Strictly Come Dancing that should have been voted off at an early stage. The script is flaccid - the most memorable line was perhaps when Darin asks a waiter where he's from - the waiter replies 'Germany', to which Darin replies 'Nice town!'. The film lacks any sort of genius - the direction is adequate but unexcitingly over-formulaic and predictable. Ironically, Darin was a member of Mensa, but even he is hardly portrayed as a troubled genius - more a self-obsessed and rather unlikeable man. The acting is mostly pedestrian - Spacey has surrounded himself with some B-List actors who wheel out well-learnt performances - John Goodman as the Friendly Fat Guy, and Bob Hoskins as the Working Man Made Good. Only Brenda Blethyn distinguishes herself, convincingly portraying someone who has been brought up in the backstreets of entertainment, earning a living by hard graft.
At the end we are left wondering if this really is a tribute to Bobby Darin or merely a monumental edifice to Kevin Spacey (who I think, as an actor, is capable of much better work).
Rating: 5/10
Film Reviews Index Page: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z