Review of Pleasantville (1998) by Actor_14 — 26 Feb 2015

There are many similarities and differences between the film Pleasantville and the story of Adam and Eve. For those who have seen the film but missed the connections will now fully understand the similarities and the differences between the message, tone, and cause of the conflict. There are about the same amount of similarities and differences between the two. The director attempted to interpret the film based on the story and may a done a decent job with it. There are also good characters who interpret in such a good way that it makes them both seem like they’re the same thing, although there’re not.

The similarities between the film and the story are that they both have a very similar core theme which was rebellious. In the story, Eve disobeyed God by eating an apple from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the film, Bud and Mary-Sue went to a different world and, especially Mary-Sue, rebelled by changing people to who they really were inside however; they didn’t really want to show that side of them, but that didn’t stop her just like how Eve didn’t stop the serpent from tempting her. Mary-Sue had the same characteristics as Eve. Bud would be considered calm and a going-with-the-flow type of guy. Adam has the same characteristics as Bud because they both didn’t cause any trouble until they realized that they’ve broken the rules because of temptation and they didn’t have a choice. One last similarity would be the setting. Both places in Pleasantville and The Garden of Eden are pure paradise unless someone or something interferes with one of them. That explains the similarities between Pleasantville and the story of Adam and Eve. There similarities make them feel the same but they may not have the same overall themes, messages, etc.

However, there are also many differences between the film and the story. For example, the messages between the two are different. The message in the film was to listen and follow who you are and who you were created to be. The message in the story was to obey God or whoever is in charge. One other difference is the tone. In the film, the tone was to accept who you are. All the characters tried to hide who they really were once they found out. The tone in the story was obedience. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil but Eve let the serpent tempt her into eating it. The causes of the conflicts were also different. In the film, the conflict was caused by people trying to hide who they really were and in the story the conflict was caused by the serpent tempting them. Both conflicts were very hard to avoid. All of the differences make the two not so similar in some cases.

The director interpreted the story in an okay way. One reason for that is because Mary-Sue was always a rebel but Eve wasn’t until the end. His strongest interpretation was the scene when Bud and Margret were next to the pond and the beautiful scenery. Margret picked an apple and ate it. She gave some to Bud, too! I feel that when there are scenes that are mostly the same then it’s a very strong interpretation. The interpretation is just okay because there is not an official antagonist in the film but in the story there was.

That explains the similarities, differences between the message, tone, and the cause of conflict, as well as how strong the directors interpreted the story. They have the amount of similarities and differences. The cause of the conflict can be similar in some ways such as when people interfere with someone’s life like how Bud and Mary-Sue did. The serpent also interfered with Adam and Eve while they were in the Garden of Eden. In both of these stories, the conflict was caused only when something came into someone’s life. The overall interpretation of the story was just okay because there were interpretations that weren’t very similar. One example would be when people would do the same exact thing over and over again. In the story they are free to do whatever they want but in the film they were restricted.