Beyond the Sea [DVD]

This is a musical masterpiece; it is not a biography, but a surreal portrait that captures the essence of one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. Bobby Darin was a man of extreme contrasts, a dynamo with "a hot head and a weak heart", living on borrowed time, and making every minute count.
There are song and dance sequences in this polished gem that are reminiscent of the great movie musicals from decades ago, blended into the dramatic story of Darin's life.

Kevin Spacey was born to play Darin. Everything he has done in his immensely talented life has lead to this point. His age is irrelevant, all he needed was a little added to his nose for the transformation to be complete. He spent over five years on this project, to write, direct, and star in this fantastic tribute. Being a big Darin fan since the mid '60s, I was apprehensive about seeing this film, especially when I read that Spacey was singing, but he won me over in the first few minutes of the first scene. His singing is remarkable, and comes very close to the real thing, and the body language sometimes makes me think I'm watching Darin.

The smartest thing Darin ever did was to keep those closest to him people he trusted from his early days, and in this film, Spacey has the finest of actors taking these parts.
Kate Bosworth is marvelous as Sandra Dee, with a walk and subtle tilt of the head that is pure Dee, as well as being incredibly beautiful. John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Greta Scacchi, and Caroline Aaron are all superb, and special mention must be made of William Ulrich, the amazing youngster that plays "Little Bobby Darin" as a child, and an alter ego that follows him throughout the film.

Shot on location in Berlin and London, the cinematography by Eduardo Sera is a marvel, and the choreography by Rob Ashford and the terrific dancers are a joy to watch. The extraordinary skill and brilliance of Spacey's direction and performance makes this film one I can view repeatedly with increased appreciation, and total running time is 118 minutes.
The DVD extras are not to be missed, with a "Making of" piece, and some interesting producer/director commentary.

I was no fan of Spacey or Darin, but this film changed all that.

Spacey is outstanding. The Darin story sucks you in from the beginning. The soundtrack -Spacey singing, not Darin-is absolutely terrific. The ending poignant and thought provoking. I had to watch it twice I was that drawn into this film.

And anyone who isn't touched by the rendition of 'Once upon a time' ..well, shame on you.

Excellent vewing. Rent, buy, borrow...and keep.

Being a fan of the swing era and in particular Darin I couldn't wait to see this movie when I first heard about it being made. Knowing about the people involved, what story it had to tell and the format it would take I just knew this would be amazing from the first minute to the last. Kevin Spacey is currently the finest actor to ever grace the silver screen, and he will go down in history as one of the finest to ever grace it. Bobby Darin in contrast was one of the finest singers of the great musical generation, was basically the first ever teen idol and has definitely gone down in history as one of the most entertaining and charismatic singers of the swing generation.

Before the film had even come to the screens, there was constant talk about whether Spacey was too old to play the part being 45 at the time and playing Bobby from his early to later career. In some respects it may be true that Kevin may have been too old to play the part, but he certainly put my fears to rest. The opening sequence of the film is an elongated introduction to the legendary song of "Mack The Knife" in which we're instantly introduced to Spacey as Darin making his way to the stage. The minute Spacey hits the stage, grabs the mic and engages the audience of actors you know that he was born to play Darin.

The story quite simply focuses around the life of Bobby Darin starting off modestly in his childhood when being taught the piano and to sing by his Mother, then growing into becoming the star he is. At the age of 8 Darin overheard a doctor tell his mother that he (Darin) would be lucky to see 16 years of age, so he lived in constant fear of his own mortality and developed high determination to live his short life to the fullest. Throughout the story we come to see the people he met that changed his life forever, especially his first wife Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth).

Being a Biopic Musical is something you don't regularly see, but when it does come around it certainly is an experience and this is made all the better with Spacey doing his musical performances. I honestly didn't realise that Spacey had such vocal talent, but the mimicry of all of Darins mannerisms are certainly something special. The dialect, the movements, the charisma and the aura are all expressed superbly throughout the film. In effect Spacey overshadows the entire supporting cast with his truly outstanding performance throughout. I'm not sure why but Spacey seemed to put that little bit extra into this performance, whether it was to prove the critics wrong or whether it was to do Darin justice I simply don't know, but what I do know is that it was wonderful.

Mentioning the supporting cast, there are certainly a few big names in there such as John Goodman as Darins manager, Bob Hoskins as his sisters husband and of course Kate Bosworth as the fabulous Sandra Dee. A special mention should go to William Ullrich as he plays a young Bobby Darin and actually performs a few musical duets with Spacey within the film. He's a delightful kid and very talented and possibly the only one not to be overshadowed by Spacey's presence.

Overall I would advise you all to ignore the negative critics on this one and at least give it a chance. Of course, if you don't like it then, then at least you can say "well I gave it a shot and it just didn't work for me." This isn't a film for everyone because of its subject and its format as some simply aren't fans of musicals, but judge each film on its merit that's what I say.