Beyond the Sea (2004 film)

Cafe Society
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A couple nights ago I caught the film “Beyond the Sea” on IFC TV. I had seen it in theaters when it was first released a few years ago but hadn’t remembered much of it. Has anyone else here seen this film? What are your thoughts on it? For those who don’t know, this was a film directed by & starring Kevin Spacey as singer Bobby Darin (Mack the Knife.)
I loved the musical numbers. Great colorful costumes & I think Spacey has a very nice singing voice, (I actually saw him in concert at Lincoln Center once.) but it felt at times like a weird vanity project. He was great as the older Darin, but Spacey as a 22 year old singing Splish Splash!? Quite odd. And I will admit to giggling a bit during the scenes where he is trying to seduce Sanda Dee (Kate Bosworth.) I didn’t like all the scenes where Spacey talks with Darin’s younger self, basically narrating the movie we are watching. The kid Darin was really annoying and overacted everything. (There was even a scene at the end where Spacey & Darin as a boy dance through the Hollywood sound stages that had, previously in this film, been real places. I didn’t quite get what he was saying with that.)

(I searched to see if there was an older thread on this, but it said the words “beyond” “the” & “sea” were all too common and wouldn’t search for them. :smack: )

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I really HATE musicals, but I kind of liked this. Mostly I was surprised that Spacey had the range to pull it off – IIRC he actually did his own singing. I had no idea he had any kind of singing background.

I didn’t really get the little mini-me version of himself arguing with him either.

And Kate Bosworth was just amazingly beautiful.

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Just watched this last week, coincidentally. (Netflix)

Thought the attempt to explain why the too-old Spacey was trying to portray the teenage Darin (by way of the opening segment) was a valiant attempt – but damn, Spacey was way too frigging old to play Darin. (He was, what, seven years older than Darin was when he died?)

Liked the musical numbers, though. And was very impressed with Spacey’s singing.

Did the movie need to be made? Don’t think so – Darin isn’t all that interesting a figure in pop music.