Review of Pleasantville (1998) by Daniel K — 29 Aug 2011

3: I love The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry, which Pleasantville is obviously supposed to remind us of, along with other similar shows/advertisements from the era, but this world doesn't quite make sense.

Or does it? Just because we don't see these other elements of everyday life in Mayberry, does that mean they aren't there? For instance, the inability of the soda shop owner to function without his usual counterpart/helper or the absence of words in the books and functioning toilets seems a bit ridiculous at first.

However, this is essentially the point the film is trying to make. These idyllic worlds were incomplete, just as Pleasantville is incomplete, although in seemingly more ludicrous and bizarre ways. It is a mere shadow of the real world though, as only the elements of life and society that are deemed ideal are exhibited.

Pleasantville's genius is the manner in which it both concretely and metaphorically illustrates this absence of reality, while not exactly bashing either the real or the imagined world. They both have their place; they both have their advantages and disadvantages, but our current society is ultimately the one we have to live with and it is a much fuller and richer one for all its flaws and troubles, some of which are depressingly outlined at the beginning of the film in the "real" world.

It isn't perfect, as sometimes it seems a bit over-the-top, melodramatic, and/or obvious, but it works well enough to merit 3 stars.