Review of Pleasantville (1998) by Seth S — 23 May 2014

The expectations versus reality of my opinion towards Pleasantville is jarring. I expected to really enjoy an inventive piece of filmmaking. The reality is, the morals of the story completely obliterated any enjoyment I could have gotten out of the movie.

By briefly explaining the story, you'll understand where I'm coming from. In the 1990s, two teenage siblings are transported back in time to a 1950s television sitcom. "Pleasantville" is where they land. Everything is in black and white - literally and morally. David is a geek, his sister Jennifer is popular and proudly slutty. Once they're transported to the sitcom, they eventually wind up doing everything in their power to update Pleasantville to a modern way of thinking.

There are two extremes represented in this movie. Number one, there is the 1950s: where everyone stays in their place, women stay in the home, progressive thought is shunned, creativity is a big no no, etc. Then there is the 1990s: where sexual promiscuity is a must, moral character and values are passé and simple-minded, faithfulness in marriage is easily pushed to the side, etc. The movie takes a militant stand towards the mentality of the 1990s.

And as I said, these are two extremes. What the movie paints as being so great (the newer mentality) is far from being close to what I agree with. That said, I do agree with some of it. On the other side, I don't believe that the uber-conservative, 1950s mentality of black and white morality is right either. But I do believe in family, faithful marriages, and so forth.

Because the movie paints both sides so heavy-handedly, I practically couldn't agree with anything this movie has to say. As David and Jennifer begin to change the black and white Pleasantville, the world slowly changes to color. Those who are not on board with the new way of thinking remain in black and white. It's only when a character changes what they believe in, that they actually change to color. The movie paints all change like it's a good thing. When Jennifer introduces the world to excessive sex, those that follow her lead change into being in color - because that's absolutely a good thing, right?! Later on, any act of passion, rage, or violence changes a person into color. Which isn't something I inherently disagree with. I believe that the world is always changing around us. I believe that people change constantly. But the movie never makes the distinction that some change isn't for the better.

The movie preaches that all change is good. And it's not. I'm in no way saying that the world we live in should be like 1950s Pleasantville. But I certainly don't accept the fact that all newness, danger, lust, and transformation is for the better. Because Pleasantville preaches that every change is good, it doesn't actually stand for anything. It only stands for the fact that nobody should stand for anything. And when you don't stand for anything, you'll fall for everything. If sacrificing cats was a popular thing to do back in the 90s, then this movie would have said "go for it!".

The movie does salvage a bit of my good graces in one of its overall messages. Once you get past the glorification of all things "change," there's a neat idea that is presented. And it's basically this, nothing is perfect in this world. Your life probably isn't "ideal." Nor should it be ... because it isn't. Your life shouldn't "be" anything. It is what it is. Kind of cool...

But in the end, I really can't pick up much of anything that this movie puts down. I don't agree with the completely close-minded mentality of the 50s, nor can I agree with the "anything goes" mind-set of the 90s.

Oh, and one more thing before I get into the positive aspects: this movie is way too long. At 120 minutes, it really begins to drag by the end. Around the 75 minute mark, the schtick was wearing thin on me. And then, for the next 40 minutes, the movie slams you over the head with its ideals. And if you're not on board with what the movie has to say (like me), then the movie will get worse and worse as it drags along, endlessly.

But on the technical side, there is a lot to like here. Gary Ross's direction is ten times better than his story. The way that the story is told is very cool. Going back into a 50s sitcom does provide for some very funny situations. And the black and white cinematography is extremely well done.

The performances (not so much what the performances stand for) are excellent. Tobey Maguire stars as David. He is so incredibly nerdy and awkward, when he wants to be. But he can also transcend that, when he wants to. One of my absolute favorites, Reese Witherspoon, plays Jennifer. This movie gives me one more reminder of why I love Reese, and her character is the only one that really had an arc that appealed to me. She starts out as being completely shallow. But she grows into a person who cares about learning and intelligence. She has a great line in the end, "I did the slut thing, David. It got kinda old." That was just about the only moral in the movie that I could completely say "yes" to.

There are some great supporting performances. Two actors that I was shocked to see in this were Don Knotts in a great cameo, and Paul Walker as Jennifer's Pleasantville boyfriend. Honestly, I think Walker does some of his best and most convincing acting here. It was weird to see. Rest in peace. Don Knotts is naturally hilarious, so he's a joy to watch here. And lastly, William H. Macy plays the most sympathetic character in the story ... at least for me. In that he originally does not jump on board with the extreme change. But over the course of the story, he slowly begins to realize that not all change is bad. He doesn't fly off the handle, one way or the other. And yet, in the end, he's bounced to the side in favor of his cheating wife and her new boyfriend. Screw you too, movie.

I can appreciate the fact that this is a very well made movie with some appealing elements. But I can in no way endorse anything this movie preaches. This is, without a doubt, the most militantly liberal movie I have ever seen. And I'm not a fan of anything that heavy-handedly shoves its ideological agenda down the audience's throat. Pleasantville's tagline is "Nothing is as Simple as Black and White." And yet this movie insists that the comparison between liberalism and conservatism is as simple as the former being totally and obviously right - and the latter being totally and simple-mindedly wrong. There's a healthy balance that is disgustingly foreign to this film. Making this film disgustingly foreign to me.

"It's not supposed to be like this .... It's not supposed to be anything." 2/10.