Beyond The Sea (2004/Lionsgate
DVD)
Picture: B-
Film: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
We have looked at several DVDs with performances by the
real Bobby Darin, so when the time came to look at Kevin Spacey’s long-planned
film on Darin, we knew Beyond The Sea (2004) would be something
interesting. What Spacey did was
co-write, direct and star in the film as Darin, combining the biopic with the
Backstage Musical. The result is better
than expected, though the device of flashback and the preteen Bobby talking to
the soon-to-be-dead Bobby was a miscalculation.
However, the fact that Spacey took so many risks is half
the fun and then dared to play him at every age he could. It is a strain to suspend disbelief when he
covers him in younger years, but he sticks with the story and is trying to
ultimately convey that Darin is one of the great lost talents of the 20th
Century in music. In this, he does
succeed more than the critics have given him credit for, but maybe if he loaded
the script with more about the music and its influence, it would have hit the
mark a bit more. As it stands, Spacey
beats the biopic formula and makes a personal comeback after The Life Of
David Gale was the nadir of virtually all involved.
Kate Bosworth is good as Sandra Dee, joined by John
Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Great Scacchi and a good supporting
cast. There is even a hilarious moment
where an unknown actress shows up as Angie Dickinson, getting a word in from a
distance. The film has many interesting
moments, some of which may just be happy accidents, but it is primarily because
Spacey cared and that is why Beyond The Sea is worth your time.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot in
Super 35 by Eduardo Serra, A.S.C., A.F.C., which brings back the classical look
of Hollywood filmmaking. It may not go
out on a limb like the also-underrated Down With Love (reviewed
elsewhere on this site), but has some detail limits that are a combination of
the way it was shot and the transfer being softer than it should be. The color is somewhat inconsistent. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic
surrounds is fair, while the Dolby 5.1 is a bit harsh and shrill for a new
recording. A DTS track like Lion’s Gate
just included on the Spacey film Swimming With Sharks (also elsewhere on
this site) might have helped, but the songs are also too loud versus the
dialogue parts. The combination is
somewhat awkward, but is still watchable enough.
Extras include trailers for this and a few other Lionsgate
titles, a featurette that runs about 17 minutes and a commentary by Spacey and
producer Andy Paterson that discusses what it took to make the film. Spacey did his own singing, which was not
bad, but it also points to the need for having Darin’s music restored and reissued. Maybe some SACDs or DVD-Audios would be in
order.
- Nicholas Sheffo
