Review of Pleasantville (1998) by Summer D — 08 Jan 2011

Pleasantville is a beautiful movie. Not only visually but it's one of those films that has such a heartfelt message at the end that you can't help but feel the dedication that the writer of the story put into it. It was one of those movies where I finished watching and didn't feel like I watched a, "movie." I felt like I'd watched an engaging story with three-dimensional characters who were still with me even when it was over.

The story follows the adventure of Dave (Tobey Maguire) and Jen (Reese Witherspoon), two teens who are accidentally sucked into a 50's sitcom called, "Pleasantville," that satirizes shows like Leave It To Beaver with the world picturesque and devoid of flaws. The home team wins every single team, the firemen only saves cats, and everything -- up until the arrival of Dave and Jen -- is in black and white. While David, a Pleasantville fan and social outcast, is excited at first to be in his favorite show, Jen, his popular and self-absorbed sister, has other ideas. She exposes the town's residents to things that they've never seen before -- things like sex, violence, or even literature. As time goes by and things change, so does the color in Pleasantville as the black-and-white environment slowly vanishes with new ideas present. Unfortunately, this doesn't sit well for the town government and Pleasantville ceases to be pleasant entirely when a war breaks out between the conservative town hall and the, "colored," teenagers. The film eventually stops being a satire of 50's sitcoms and instead becomes a social satire that questions our morals as a society and our fear of change.

I really liked the message at the end of the film about how, "life isn't supposed to be anything." In the beggining of the film, Dave hated his life and was obsessed with Pleasantville because it represented a utopia for him away from the troubles of his life. As he slowly learns though, there is no such thing as a utopia and no life is perfect. Instead of deciding what's correct and what's immoral, maybe we should be the ones to decide for ourselves instead of blindly following what society deems as right. It's a powerful moral and it's stayed with me since the first time I saw the movie.

While visual effects have always been secondary to me, I have to say I was impressed with the way they handled the transition from black and white to color. It was done quietly and not overdone at all, and unlike special effects in other movies, it looked cool every time I saw it and never got repetitive. One of the most touching moments in the film involves rain coming to Pleasantville for the first time and a group of newly colored teenagers led out to experience it by the still black-and-white David. It was stunning and moving without being too in your face. My hat goes off to the visual team behind this film.

And on a final note, I also have to give a hand to the actors. Tobey Maguire does an excellent job as the socially awkward David while his sitcom mother also does a great job. This is one of the movies that I firmly believe will never be remade and wouldn't even work if it was. There's something beautiful about it and I urge everyone who hasn't seen it to check it out.