Review of Pleasantville (1998) by Healingtoolbox — 30 Apr 2020

A rare movie of thematic derring-do and living with uncertain thematic resolutions. Also a rare example of a metaphor about a metaphor, metaphors over metaphors. Let's acknowledge Steven Soderbergh as a producer and his likely contribution to this unique juggling act of themes. Astonishing to me, the film for a period is about KKK repression and book-burning. For another period the white youth in the town are literally put into the position of African-American "colored" people. The coda takes it to a Zen like acceptance of living more spontaneously, one of the few thematic resolutions possible.

Wikipedia says, "In Pleasantville, color represents the transformation from repression to enlightenment. People—and their surroundings—change from black-and-white to color when they connect with the essence of who they really are.".

I think this misses the mark. Clearly the meaning of color is you go from "blah" to more self-expressive when you "connect with what turns you on." This seems simpler and more true of the movie's point of view.

This was an early film using close control over color-timing as an effect.