Beyond the Sea (2004)

Watching Kevin Spacey's new film musical biography about the life of Bobby Darin, "Beyond the Sea", I couldn't help but think of the great film critic, Pauline Kael's assessment of Diana Ross in the film version of the 70's Black retelling of "The Wizard of Oz", "The Wiz". "Ms. Ross's insistence at the age of thirty nine of playing Dorothy age twelve in 'The Wiz'," wrote Ms. Kael, "amounts to a whim of iron." That's not to say that "Beyond the Sea" does not have merit. It does, and a lot of it. Or, that Kevin Spacey is inappropriately cast. Finally, he's not. In fact, it's hard to imagine anyone else who could bring to this part what Spacey does. But having directed as well as co-produced, co-written, starred and done all of his own singing, one cannot escape that "Beyond the Sea" is ultimately much about Spacey as it is Bobby Darin;in the same manner that "Citizen Kane" is about Orson Welles as William Randolph Heart or, a.k.a. Charles Foster Kane. Spacey's strong ties to his own mother have been reported and Bobby Darin's relationship with his mother is at the focal point of the story, as well as Sandra Dee's, Darin's wife. Both appear as intellectuals with an artist's arrogance and both relish in an often droll delivery. And both, clearly, know how to sing.

Owing some stylish influence to Fosse's "All That Jazz" and even Coppola's "One From the Heart", "Beyond the Sea" shows off Spacey's strong grasp of cinematic story telling moving between surrealism and reality, and his even stronger vocalizing ability in sounding about as close to Darin as you could expect. He moves, he struts and there are moments when he quietly strikes an uncanny pose that looks just like some of those famous record covers. What Spacey can't escape is that at forty five, he is eight years older than when Darin died. Because we are so familiar with Darin's face the difference is noticeable. For some, this may amount to an impossible suspension of disbelief, much in the same manner of last year's "The Human Stain", where many found it impossible to buy Anthony Hopkins as a fair skinned Negro.

This is a shame because Spacey's work is formidable and an impact is made. A life is realized and rendered effectively, often brilliantly and I was moved at the end. If nothing else, one looks forward to what Spacey does next, both in front of and behind the camera. No doubt, his production of Oedipus Rex would be spectacular.

Fmovies: This has been called "a labor of love" by the man responsible for this movie: Kevin Spacey. He was driving force behind this biography being put on screen, even to the point of starring in the title role. This is the most amazing aspect of them all: Spacey's imitation of singer Bobby Darin. It's unbelievable! He sounds remarkably close to how Darin sounded. He did his idol proud, that's for sure.

Those who complain that he was told old to play the part are nitpicking. I am not a personal fan of Spacey. Off-screen, I think he's a jerk. However, the criticism of him here is simply unfair. The man did an incredible job imitating Darin - period. Who could have done better?

Kate Bosworth is also very good as "Sandra Dee," the actress who married Darin. She comes across as a very positive and nice person, a lot more than Darin whose problems are shown as well as his good points. He is not always a good guy.

The language is a little rougher than I'd like to see this in this music-biography. The bits with the kid were annoying, not profound as they were obviously trying to be. In fact, the film would have ended perfectly without that last 4-5 minute scene with the child.

Bobby Darin was a great singer and entertainer. And his untimely death at age 37 was most unfortunate. But, aside from one interesting revelation about his parents, I'm not sure that his life was any more deserving of a film than dozens of other singers and entertainers from the fifties and sixties. The fact that "Beyond The Sea" is mostly a musical tribute rather than a traditional biography suggests a lack of substantive material on which to base a two hour movie.

The film's complex structure is unusual, in that the adult Darin (Kevin Spacey) talks with himself as a child (William Ullrich) and the two of them, via flashbacks and fantasy, direct a movie about the adult's life. It is an interesting, though at times confusing, structural approach.

What I liked most about the film is the music. Spacey himself sings the songs. And he does a terrific job with the big band sounds of "Dream Lover", "Artificial Flowers", "Some Of These Days", "Beyond The Sea" and, of course, "Mack The Knife". The film's secondary performances are quite good, especially John Goodman. Production design is high quality, and the dance routines are well staged.

Overall, listening to Darin's songs was great. But I would have preferred a more traditional, linear biography. This movie reinforces the perception that talented performers who die young are more likely to get film tributes than talented performers who live to an old age. Maybe, in some way, Hollywood feels guilty at the premature loss. Or, maybe, an early death makes the entertainer, over time, seem more idealized.

Beyond the Sea fmovies. I had some misgivings about two entertainers whose work I enjoy so much (Bobby Darin and Kevin Spacey) being combined in this biopic. Let me say up front, however, that this film exceeded my expectations by several miles.

In answer to some of the standard complaints

(1) If you think Spacey is too old to play this role, you should reconsider what the film is depicting. This film is a retrospective which looks back from the latter part of Darin's career (reminiscent of his self-referential comments in The Bobby Darin Story). He is not supposed to be young. This is also one of the reasons why so much of the narrative keys on his relationship with his younger self embodied by the actor he has picked to play himself in his autobiography.

(2) If you believe Spacey can't sing.... well.... I give up. People tend to have very narrow and hardened opinions about music - regardless of how tone deaf they may be. Spacey may not bring much originality to the singing style of Bobby Darin, but, in my opinion, he pretty much nails Darin's voice and overall style.

(3) The characters are shallow? What film did you watch? OK, Darin lead a charmed existence compared to Johnny Cash and Ray Charles. After all, he never developed a serious drug addiction, nor did he have to go through a painful divorce. And he wasn't blind. The only real tragedy in Bobby's life was being diagnosed with a terminal illness in his early teens, not knowing his parents throughout most of his life, and never living up to his own standards... minor problems compared to the "deeper" ones portrayed in other "more serious" biopics? Ya whatever. Depth does not equal self-destructiveness and depression, IMO.

This film stands as a great achievement for Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and others. The cast is excellent, and the writing and directing are superb. The music is as entertaining as the action of the narrative, and very well blended into the story. The film achieves a powerful surrealism which is very rare for biopics and has unfortunately been neglected in most contemporary musicals, as it portrays Darin's inner and outer worlds with equal weight. Although the subject matter is very very different, Beyond the Sea's musical method reminded me of the beautiful "Dancer in the Dark".

Darin's story is a story of the profound love, dedication to craft, and the desire to be the best, which allowed a dying man to miraculously prolong his time with us for decades, and way beyond his time of death.

Even though he's been making movies since "Heartburn" in 1986, and most of us have probably heard of "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" from 1989, "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects" from 1995, but it wasn't until "American Beauty" came in 1999 that he became a familiar name amongst movie critics. The role also won him an Oscar.

I've been a swing/jazz fan for a long time, and I'm being hit my minor anxiety attacks when artists like Robbie Williams and recently Westlife decide to do "a swing thing" and miss the whole point about the genre. Those who call Robbie Williams a crooner know just about as much about the genre as he does. So when I heard about Kevin Spacey's project a couple of years ago, I was automatically skeptical. By then I'd already heard him sing "That Old Black Magic" from the Clint Eastwood production "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" (1997) and he had a good voice, but performed the song like a pop song. Something the above mentioned artists also have a tendency to do.

Kevin showed up at the Michael Parkinson show last month to promote the movie, and announced he'd also be singing two songs: "Beyond The Sea" and "Mack The Knife" with a live orchestra. I was nervous. Up until the point where he started singing, that was. He's spent the last 12 years making this project perfect, and has received blessings from both Sandra Dee and her son with Bobby, Dodd.

Beyond The Sea - the movie: It all kicks off when Bobby Darin (Spacey) enters the stage and sings "Mack The Knife". If you've had any preconceptions of his ability to sing or perform, this will disappear before he's reached "...pearly white..." He nearly performs the whole song, but interrupts and a director shouts "cut". In the break a journalist shouts "isn't he too old to play this role?!" after him, upon where his manager sneers, "Don't listen to him, Bobby. How can you be too old to play yourself?" It appears we're on the set of the movie where Bobby Darin plays himself. Which makes it okay that he doesn't look 20 in the early scenes.

Not far into the movie he meets Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) on the set of the Rock Hudson movie "Come September" in 1961, and a romance blossoms. A bit of back and forth later, particularly with Sandra's mother, they become a couple and marry within two months. The fact that they hardly know each other adds up to certain problems, but even though they fight like cat and dog at points, there's always the underlying affection for each other. You get the feeling that it's the ultimate romance.

It's eventually this turbulent - but heartwarming - love affair and Bobby's performances where the focus of the movie lies, with a glimpse into his political phase during the Vietnam war when he lived in the middle of nowhere on his own. This bred the song "Simple Song Of Freedom" and an attempt at a comeback with a new image. We follow him all the way up to his last performance and an alternative ending that's very, well, swing.

The Soundtrack: Not only is the movie a work of art, Kevin shows an almost unbelievable talent for the genre. He's been taking singing lessons since the late 90's, and has studies every little detail in Bobby Darin's voice and being, most on and off stage. Everything looks and sounds right.

Kevin's

Kevin Spacey has directed one movie prior to his direction of Beyond the Sea (Albino Aligator) and this one is worth a viewing.

Beyond the Sea starring Kevin Spacey as the legendary vocalist Bobby Darin is a well done biopic of the singers life. His rise to stardom from life in the Bronx to his new life on the stage. Along with him are his brother in-law Charlie played by Bob Hoskins, his wife and Darin's sister Nina played by Caroline Aaron, wife Sandra Dee performed by Kate Bosworth, and John Goodman as manager "Boom Boom" Steve Blauner.

Darin struggles with a serious ailment since his childhood and continues to fight his heart problem throughout his singing career. This motivates him to live longer and pursue happiness, like Sandra Dee. No matter what the challenge, Bobby is ready to tackle it. He broke out onto the billboards with "Splish, Splash". He wanted to go onto better things...like the Copacabana.Bobby would star in 10 movies, an Oscar nomination, seven Top-10 songs, and a family all in a span of 10 years. He had it all.

Although some parts of the movie are a little strange like some of the random dance sequences, it it tied nicely together with the making of a movie and how he interacts with the memory of his childhood.

What Spacey has given us is an enjoyable film that tells a story of a man once considered to be the greatest singer in the world. Spacey's passion for Darin goes way back to his childhood when he would listen to his parents records (see making of the movie on DVD). Spacey sings every song in the picture, dances every step, directs every scene, and even writes the script with Lewis Colick (Ladder 49, October Sky). He wanted this movie to be made to honor a great entertainer and a great person.

Spacey's hard work and determination has paid off for the whole world to see. Thanks for sharing the life of an icon.