Review of Beyond the Sea (2004) by Andrew G — 24 Jan 2010

"Memories are like moonbeams, we do with them what we will." Bobby Darin -- Kevin Spacey.

Bobby Darin was most famous for his song "Beyond the Sea", which is appropriately chosen for the title of his Biopic. In my opinion, this is one of the most under-rated films of all time. Sure it's not perfect and has some obvious flaws, but it's still a pretty good film and a satisfying biopic on Bobby Darin, one of my all time favourite musicians (Beyond the Sea, Mack the Knife, Don't Rain on My Parade, Guys & Dolls, Beautiful Things are all brilliant songs). You've got to give Kevin Spacey credit: he sings, produces, acts, and directs this film. He has a lot to do, so even if he did a rubbish job you've got to give him credit.

We start the film with Bobby Darin making a film about his life, and a young child wanting to play the role of Darin seeing as the real Darin is supposedly too old to play himself. We get to learn all about his beginning in the Bronx; his introduction to the worlds of Music and Dance; his early life without a father and eventually, his rise to fame and success. He soon marries, and life to him is perfectly balanced, but as always, it doesn't last long. Throughout the film he continuously speaks to the young boy who wants to play him in the film, where he constantly explains the events in his life: why he did an action, and his thoughts on it. I didn't really care for the intersections with the young child wanting to play Darin accompanying the current Darin. The interactions seemed a little forced and they didn't seem genuine. The idea as far as I know was to see how Darin looks back at the mistakes he made, or at least what the audience and everyone else in the film considers mistakes, and how he seems to think he did the right thing. It's incorporation of Darin's greatest music is great though, and displays the film at its best. If you know the real story then chances are you're going to watch the film and nitpick it to death, pointing out what events actually did and didn't happen, any excuse to bring the film down. Speaking as someone who doesn't know the story at all, I enjoyed watching Darin's apparent upbringing, and loving the reveals of how he became such a success.

Kevin Spacey plays the lead role as Bobby Darin. I've never seen any footage of the real Darin, but what I will say that Spacey does a good job displaying Darin's apparent cockiness and skill. He goes through the emotions with ease and convinced me. Towards the end when we're meant to feel sympathetic, you actually feel the emotions, but the film doesn't force you to. Like Ed Wood in 1994 and Raging Bull in 1980, the film re-enacts films the person's events with no bias feeling towards it, leaving the audience with a bit of thinking power, to let them make their own minds on the situation. I really appreciated this. I like to be able to make my own mind on something, with only the event itself to direct my mind. Kate Bosworth plays Sandra Dee, and I thought she did a pretty good job and didn't come off as a stupid airhead that I'd normally suspect someone with her looks to come off as. John Goodman plays his role well, not overdoing the role of Talent Manager while still leaving an impression. Bob Hoskins too is good as Darin's Brother In-Law. He shows care that you'd expect family to show, and stubbornness that Hoskins always plays well. When it came to the twist involving Darin's family, it really shocked me because the people had been played with subtlety and I genuinely didn't expect it to happen until a few seconds before. Brenda Blethyn isn't in the film too long, but for the time she is in the film she plays Darin's mother well. The same can be said Caroline Aaron, whose portrayal of Darin's sister is subtle yet great.

One of the biggest elements of the film is the Music of Bobby Darin. Rather than just lip sync to the original tracks by him, Spacey decided to use his own singing voice. As an impression of Darin, he is actually really good and while he's not the best singer in the world, he does a great job. Yes he's not as good a singer vocally as Darin was, but you've got to remember that Kevin Spacey is not a singer or musician, he's an actor. It's great to listen to the differences between the Darin version of Beyond the Sea, and Spacey's version. The ending song alone, Simple Song of Freedom, got me emotionally tied to the situation, and is easily one of the best musical performances in the history of film.

I can't really describe what it is about Beyond the Sea that I like. In all honesty, I never felt bored and I loved just listening to the film. It's not a perfect film, but I've got no idea why the film is as disliked as it is. It's one of my favourite films and has a subtle sense of quality to it.

Andrew's rating: 8 out of 10.