Review of Beyond the Sea (2004) by Nick T — 14 May 2010

"Beyond the Sea", initially not a Kevin Spacey project (it had been in and around Hollywood studios since 1987), became his labour of love, through writing the final screenplay, directing and staring.

But "Beyond the Sea" is not your average singer biopic. Actually it is a fantasy based on a biopic. It follows the life of 50s and 60s actor and singer (academy award nominated also!) Bobby Darin.

But it does not give the story in a straightforward fashion. The movie opens with Spacey (Darin) on set of a movie where he plays himself in a life biopic. When he meets the young actor that plays himself as a child (William Ullrich, which really was not a very promising child actor.

..), something metaphysical happens between them, and both start seeing, almost as the ghost of Christmas past, Darin's life. And this life is not very real, it is given by a set of almost videoclips, to the sound of Darin's songs.

A disclaimer at the end credits says that there were liberties taken, and this movie is much more a musical than a real life story. There are good and bad consequences of this approach. The good are that the movie flows very well, the scenes are lively and appealing, and the essence of Darin shines through.

The bad are that the movie looses all its emotional depth, the characters are cliché and shallow, some almost plastic like, characters in a music video (none the more so than Kate Bosworth's Sandra Dee, who for the first half of the movie is a dim-wit girl and then, because it pleases the movie, she suddenly gains a head), and continuity is gratuitous.

An example is Darin saying voice off "and then I landed a record deal", and sure enough he appears in the studio recording, without one ever knowing how that came about. The whole courting of Sandra Dee, for example, takes three minutes, the time for him to sing "Beyond the Sea".

But anyway, it is assumed that it is a fantasy, and so that was working well, with great set pieces, but in the last act, as Darin's career comes to a stall in the 60s, he goes to support Kennedy, he becomes a hippie and against-vietname, they couldn't really show that lightly, so the movie suddenly changes to a normal one for 20 minutes, which completely throws it off balance.

But it regains it in the last scene, as Darin dies but doesn't (because his legend will live), Spacey and his younger self dance a fantastic duet, a beautiful, powerful and artistic scene. Spacey showed great dancing and singing skills throughout.

The supporting cast was great (John Goodman, Caroline Aaron, Brenda Blethyn) but totally limited. Only Bob Hoskins broke through that, as the great actor he his. In the end, "Beyond the Sea" is not about the man, but the legend, is not about his life but the myth of his life, it is not about the reality but the songs, not about the man behind them but the singer, and the illusion the public had of that singer.

Good concept, which gives two pleasure and easy hours, but does not become memorable. At least Darin was not shown to do drugs or to become a drunk, as it is custom in every singer biopic. The songs remain and are the base of the movie.

The emotional side no, the movie fails in that department constantly, replacing it by the glitter of show-bizz.