Beyond the Sea
Some people may find it surprising that Kevin Spacey made it such a personal
goal to film the life story of fifties crooner Bobby Darin. After all,
Darin was a teen pop star turned second-tier Sinatra. While he was
certainly a talented, conflicted man, at this point, he is mostly remembered
for three or four classic songs; the lounge cover of A Threepenny
Opera's "Mack the Knife," the title track, the teen dance craze "Splish
Splash" and his late-career stab at relevancy with the folky "If I Were A
Carpenter." (Although, strangely this last song is ignored in the
film's "comeback" scenes for the less well known, but more politically
overt song "Simple Song of Freedom" which is repeated ad nauseam.) Darin was also told by doctors as a little boy that
he'd probably never reach adulthood, which gives his every triumph and
backslide a sense of borrowed time. He was part of a combustible star
marriage, even though his wife, Sandra Dee was known specifically for her
white bread image. And, of course, for the whiz bang finale to a bio pic, you can never beat a talented man dying young. (Darin succumbed
at the age of thirty seven.)
His
life was fascinating in many ways, and at the same time there are probably
dozens of stars whose life story is even more intriguing who have never been
immortalized.
However, in the long run, it is not our place to question why Spacey has
become so fixated on Darin and made this film his mission. He grew to
love Darin as a young boy and our questioning it is impudent and besides the
point. Spacey
can make a film about anyone that he wants. We will register our
agreement or disagreement simply by whether we see it or not.
On that scale,
Beyond the Sea is definitely worth
seeing. It is not perfect, but it is time well spent, nonetheless.
The movie is rather reminiscent in both the positives and the
negatives of the Cole Porter bio DeLovely which was released
earlier in the year. Like that film, Beyond the Sea has a frame
story in which a dying Bobby Darin is taken on a guided tour of his own life
(in this film, the tour guide is his younger self) which is often
choreographed like a Broadway musical. Moments of great drama are
played off of high-stepping musical extravaganzas giving the film an oddly
fantastical feel which makes even the most realistic scenes feel a bit like
a fairytale.
Spacey does an amazing job of portraying Darin; with one slight caveat.
He is currently 43-years-old, six years older than Darin was when he died.
While this is no problem when he is playing Darin in the later years, it is
rather noticeable when he is playing a teenager or a guy in his early 20s
that Spacey is too old for this part of the role he plays it well enough,
but you can't help but notice how much older Darin looks than anyone else he
is with.
However, one thing that could have stopped the movie in its tracks turns out
to be a great triumph. Who'd 'a' thunk it, but the guy who
played Kayser Soze, a dissatisfied suburban headcase and a serial killer
obsessed with the deadly sins turns out to be one hell of a song-and-dance
man. His vocals are not quite as good as those of the singer that he
is playing, but they are damned close.
The
movie follows Darin from when he was a sickly little boy (he contracted
rheumatic fever at age seven and his mother was told he's be dead by
fifteen) through his first musical triumphs and his wooing of teen idol
Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth). He quickly becomes a star, however he is
never satisfied that he is taken seriously. He tries to branch his
musical style from teen pop to the old standards. He also takes a
whack at acting, even getting nominated for an Oscar.
Eventually, though, Darin disappears from public gaze when his style of
music is eclipsed by the British invasion. He becomes more political
(writing the just slightly simplistic anti-war tune "Simple Song of
Freedom.") When he is touring, he insists on equality and integration
at his shows.
The
scenes where Darin stands up for the integration of his shows do represent a
brave stand upon Darin's part, however the film has the misfortune of coming
so soon after Ray. You can't help but feel that the power of
the gesture is weakened after seeing Ray Charles make the same decisions in
his bio pic. Bobby Darin is making a stand that may affect his
popularity and perhaps even his lifestyle, however it was a life-or-death
struggle for Charles, who was immersed in the problem in a way that Darin
never could be.
Some
of the dramas and tragedies in his life also seem to be mostly of Darin's
own making. His relationship with Dee is certainly not a great one,
however she seems more the victim than he does. Scenes where Darin is
devastated by the assassination of Robert Kennedy would have been more
effective if the movie spent more time setting up Darin's relationship with
the slain politician. When Darin moves out on his wife and son and
spend months living in a house trailer by the Pacific, he may very well have
been going through a dark night of the soul, however from the outside he
seems rather selfish and irresponsible.
A
late bombshell revelation by Darin's sister creates a not unexpected rift,
however the length of the grudge which Darin holds seems excessive;
eventually you think the guy should just learn to deal with it. When
he finally does make up with her, in public and on stage, it seems a bit
arbitrary because he has been so obstinate on the point for so long and we
don't get to really see his change of heart.
All
of these things may very well be true facts, but that doesn't mean they all
work as drama. However there are enough dramatic moments here that do
work (the whole thing is worth seeing just to hear the venom in Spacey's
voice in a scene after Darin lost the only chance he'd ever had at an Oscar
when he says, "Warren Beatty came with Leslie Caron and I was there with
Gidget!"). The musical scenes are also spontaneous and joyously
performed, if occasionally over the top.
In
the end, you may not come out of Beyond the Sea as enthralled with
Bobby Darin as Kevin Spacey. You will get a better understanding of
who the man was, though. Just like his musical career, Bobby Darin's
life story may have never hit the heights of Frank Sinatra's, but it's still
a tale worth telling. (11/04)
Jay S.
Jacobs
