Review

Review Date: 9-January-05
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Beyond the Sea (2004)

Remember that kid from high school who hung with the arty crowd and was accorded a certain respect for "talent" while not quite achieving popularity? "Beyond the Sea" and its creator, Kevin Spacey, remind me of him. The movie plays like an ambitious skit devised by an inexperienced mind that equates being cool with being affected, but you have to give it credit for showcasing a genuine gift.

"Beyond the Sea" is a quasi-musical about the life of '60s pop star Bobby Darin, whom Spacey clearly believes was one of the greatest entertainers in history. Since few people today would agree with him, he has some convincing to do, which, oddly enough, he both does and doesn't achieve. Spacey begins the movie with Darin's most famous song, "Mack the Knife," and then, having rationalized his choice of subject, reveals an unusual intention: instead of taking the role of detached biographer, he will literally become Bobby Darin and unfold his story in his own way. While this opens the field to freeform history and outbursts of song and dance, it doesn't add anything as a narrative device. In fact, this approach quickly becomes lame when Spacey is joined in his Darinhood by a younger version of himself (William Ullrich), who is replete with the deep wisdom of superfluous children in the movies.

The self-proclaimed trip down memory lane reveals in choppy chronological order how a sickly kid from the Bronx followed his mother's dreams to become a rival of Sinatra. Beginning in 1958, Darin wrote and/or recorded a number of ballads and rock-n-roll hits, enjoyed a healthy touring schedule, and co-starred in several popular films, one of which earned him an Oscar nomination. He also made headlines through a marriage with teen starlet Sandra Dee (embodied with appropriate vacuity by Kate Bosworth). Maybe because people remember things as they should have been instead of how they were, Spacey-Darin depicts this romance as a solid, if troubled, relationship that ended as wedding vows would dictate instead of in divorce (which, sadly, was the case).

Excepting a late surprise about Darin's family history, nothing about this odd (you might say spacy) tale comes across as particularly interesting or dramatic. Yet there are moments — luckily, quite a few — when the movie sweeps you up despite its limitations. Every time Spacey looses his extremely serviceable voice for one of the nightclub scenes or background tracks, you get a glimpse of why Darin might have been a sensation. Indeed, the music in "Beyond the Sea" is very enjoyable, and the fact that Spacey sings so well makes his failings as a co-writer and director seem more forgivable. He may not sell the details of Darin's life as a story worth telling, but he does sell the evidence of Darin's art as a legacy worth remembrance.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.