Beyond The Sea Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)December 18th, 2004
"Beyond the Sea"
Walden Robert Cassotto had rheumatic fever at a young age, damaging his heart, and the doctors claimed he would not see his 15th year. But, his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), an old-fashioned vaudevillian, loved music and instilled that love in her son, helping him beat the odds. At 20 he takes his music on the road but his moniker proved a big problem. But, when he changes his name to Bobby Darin (Kevin Spacey) a legend is born in "Beyond the Sea."
Kevin Spacey takes on a boatload of tasks as the director/star/producer/cowriter with his longtime project of bringing the life of 1950's and 60's music icon, Bobby Darin, to life. The man who made a "Splish Splash" as his first foray into pop music continued on to create some timeless standards (think Mack the
Knife) and, even, earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor ("Captain Newman, M.D.").
I have been a minor fan, since I was a kid, of Bobby Darin with his seminal song "Mack the Knife" and a stirring (and deserved of the Oscar nod) performance in "Captain Newman, M.D." with Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis and Angie Dickinson. The singer/actor has some memorable tunes to his credit, besides "Mack," such as the film's song title, but I wonder at Kevin Spacey's making a biopic out of the relatively short life of songster Darin.
This is a true labor of love by Spacey, one that he spent years putting together and preparing for. The filmmaker did his homework and received the full cooperation of Bobby Darin's estate, getting permission to do the covers for Darin's songs. Kevin Spacey does a creditable job recreating the man's music and, through some very subtle makeup, resembles the singer remarkably. This is where "Beyond the Sea"
escapes from its old-fashioned, almost stodgy, biopic nature.
Spacey and company use a number of devices to tell the story of the crooner who some thought to be greater than even Frank Sinatra. The film begins as a movie within a movie as Darin is announced on stage and appears, belting out "Mack the Knife." Then, he calls "Cut!" and we are ported back to Darin's childhood where there is little hope for the boy's chances of survival. Spacey sporadically uses the film-in-film method and his young alter ego (William Ullrich) throughout the story while telling about the singer's life in straightforward, chronological order.
We are shown how Polly, Walden's life- and music-loving mother, using her old vaudeville talents to teach the boy music and instill in him an appreciation for it. Music makes him free and Walden breaks the predictions of doom and demise by the doctors and becomes a minor singing celebrity. But things don't really start popping until the name change and, as they say, history is made.
"Beyond the Sea" tells of Darin's battles to get his songs recorded and played; his breakthrough to teen idol status with "Splish Splash"; his further breakthrough to other age levels with his 1959 hit album of standard, "That's All"; the whirlwind courtship and marriage to teen screen queen Sandra Dee and there subsequent breakup; and, Darin's fall from fame during the Vietnam war only to be resurrected with his protest song, "Simple Song of Freedom."
As expected when the star also wears a whole bunch of other hats, the focus of "Beyond the Sea" is squarely on Kevin Spacey. He does an admirable job in recreating the life of the man and deserves note for the effort. After Spacey, though, the other performances in the film take a back seat to the star, with the exception of Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee. The young actress gives an apple cheeked perf when she is first wooed by Darin and turns bitter and resentful as his career takes precedence over their marriage. The change from apple-pie wholesomeness to chain-smoking, boozing bitterness is very well handled by the young actress. Others, such as John Goodman as Darin's best friend Steve Blauner and Greta Scacchi as Dee's overbearing mother, Mary, are given scant little to do. Young William Ullrich, as Little Bobby, lends a nice presence and plays well off of Spacey.
The screenplay, by Kevin Spacey (with credit also given to Lewis Colick), is by the numbers, recreating moments (not all that well sometimes, as in the "Captain Newman" scene) in Darin's life. One heavy handed and annoying thread that follows through the whole film has Darin's much older sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron), constantly showing up at clubs and concerts bearing a hurt attitude. You eventually learn she has a deep, dark secret that is supposed to be, I guess, a surprise, but did little more than aggravate with her too-frequent and irritating appearances. The whole relationship between bobby and Nina seem to be from the filmmaker's psyche.
I was entertained by "Beyond the Sea" but was never bowled over. The music is great and kudos to Spacey for his renditions of Bobby Darin's many songs. I give it a B.
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