Beyond the Sea (2004) User Reviews

A nice tribute to Bobby Darin

[moviemanMA · 7/10 · 1 July 2005]

Kevin Spacey has directed one movie prior to his direction of Beyond the Sea (Albino Aligator) and this one is worth a viewing.

Beyond the Sea starring Kevin Spacey as the legendary vocalist Bobby Darin is a well done biopic of the singers life. His rise to stardom from life in the Bronx to his new life on the stage. Along with him are his brother in-law Charlie played by Bob Hoskins, his wife and Darin's sister Nina played by Caroline Aaron, wife Sandra Dee performed by Kate Bosworth, and John Goodman as manager "Boom Boom" Steve Blauner.

Darin struggles with a serious ailment since his childhood and continues to fight his heart problem throughout his singing career. This motivates him to live longer and pursue happiness, like Sandra Dee. No matter what the challenge, Bobby is ready to tackle it. He broke out onto the billboards with "Splish, Splash". He wanted to go onto better things...like the Copacabana.Bobby would star in 10 movies, an Oscar nomination, seven Top-10 songs, and a family all in a span of 10 years. He had it all.

Although some parts of the movie are a little strange like some of the random dance sequences, it it tied nicely together with the making of a movie and how he interacts with the memory of his childhood.

What Spacey has given us is an enjoyable film that tells a story of a man once considered to be the greatest singer in the world. Spacey's passion for Darin goes way back to his childhood when he would listen to his parents records (see making of the movie on DVD). Spacey sings every song in the picture, dances every step, directs every scene, and even writes the script with Lewis Colick (Ladder 49, October Sky). He wanted this movie to be made to honor a great entertainer and a great person.

Spacey's hard work and determination has paid off for the whole world to see. Thanks for sharing the life of an icon.

Beyond the Ordinary

[Rogue-32 · 8/10 · 1 January 2005]

I've been a fan of Walden Robert Cassotto's for a long, long time, and I've been following the progress (or non-progress) of the bio-pic based on his life for an equally long time (couldn't have been any more pleased when I learned that Kevin Spacey was going to be the one to finally bring the project to the proverbial light of day). I'm mentioning this because I realize it's impossible for me to be completely objective about the movie, feeling about its subject as strongly as I do; I think that anyone who loved Bobby Darin cannot be thoroughly objective regarding Spacey's film.

That having been said, I can tell you that I was profoundly affected by Beyond The Sea. Spacey lives up to his surname in spades with this project, by tossing out all the 'normal' bio-pic story-telling tools, instead resorting to a spaced-out show biz fantasy-type structure which does work because Bobby himself did use his career as an antidote against the reality of his ever-failing health and inevitable early death - his overwhelming drive and beyond-intense focus stemmed from the fact that he knew he had only so much time to do anything with his life; this is what made him so great on stage, and this immediacy and strength of purpose is conveyed brilliantly in the movie not through the usual talking and explaining sequences but rather through Darin's actions. So the liberties that Spacey takes with Bobby's life pay off - the song-and-dance numbers and the plot devices (the best one being Darin's younger self having a simultaneous part in the proceedings with the older Darin).

So much has been written about Spacey being too old to play Bobby, how Spacey shouldn't have actually sung the songs himself, how this is a vanity project on Spacey's part, blah blah blah. All untrue.

The clever way in which he stages the film acknowledges the fact that he knows he's chronologically older than the perfect age to play this part, and he sings the songs himself because he CAN - his voice is more than serviceable; in fact when I saw the trailer for the first time a few months back and heard him singing Mack The Knife I was in the theatre telling the person I'd come with "That's Bobby, that can't possibly be Kevin Spacey" - this from a person who has listened to Darin's recording of that song literally hundreds and hundreds of times.

The thing that is most interesting about the negative criticism is the one about this being a vanity project for Spacey; his desire and enthusiasm to share his feeling for Darin via this project is being interpreted as an ego trip, when in reality it's an unabashed and pure labor of love. The film is being misunderstood by a lot of people, and I see this as being unbelievably ironic and, ultimately, proof that the film works because Darin himself was constantly misunderstood, constantly having his hell-bent-for-leather, no-time-to-waste desperation perceived as arrogance. So Spacey succeeded on that level alone.

It also doesn't hurt that from the back, he manages to bear an uncanny resemblance to Bobby, he captures the physicality perfectly, and in all the shots that are not too close up, you'd swear it was Bobby that you were seeing and not Spacey. It's only in the close-ups that I was reminded it wasn't actually Bobby on the screen, and in the later scenes, when he becomes politically aware, grows the mustache and bills himself as Bob Darin, Spacey looks like him even in the close-ups.

By the end of the film, I found myself feeling profoundly moved by what I was experiencing, even though, oddly enough, I didn't feel up to that point that the film was particularly profound, and so my reaction was very surprising to me. There's a scene where -=- POSSIBLE SPOILER -=- Darin is in his hospital bed right before he dies and Sandra Dee (who was no longer with him at that time but still loved him) is in the bed cuddled up beside him - that image was, to me, by far the single most powerful one in the movie, and it has stayed with me, long after the movie's final credits. -=-END OF POSSIBLE SPOILER

I want to include this: the person I saw the film with hadn't been a fan of Bobby's the way I had for years, and I asked her after we'd left the theatre if she'd felt moved by what she'd experienced - I was trying to get a more objective idea how the movie would play to someone who wasn't so emotionally connected to the material. She said that after seeing it, she wanted to know more about Bobby, how she'd had no idea what he'd gone through in his life and how she felt tremendous compassion and respect for him.

Spacey has said that his motivation in doing the movie was to remind people who hardly remembered him what a monumental talent Bobby Darin was, and to hopefully introduce a new generation to the man. I think he's succeeded on that level too, at least with people who go to see this movie with an open mind and a receptive heart.

Spacey's performance seals the deal

[robertjspence · 8/10 · 11 September 2004]

This film just premiered a few hours ago at the film festival here in Toronto. Kevin Spacey, Bob Hoskins and Kate Bosworth were in attendance. It was a gala event. Having said that I was very nervous about the success of a film where one guy not only produces, stars in, directs, co-writes but also does his own singing. Well, the guy pulled it off beautifully. The structure takes a little getting used to. It opens with Spacey playing Darin starring in a biopic of his own life. When a reporter walks up to him and says: "Don't you think you are a little old to be playing a guy in his twenties?" I started to feel relieved. Spacey obviously was aware that this was a potential problem in the way viewers might view his starring role and he chose to deal with it straight on instead of avoiding it. The plot is not important in this film. Rather, what the movie is about is capturing the energy and drive of Darin himself and, perhaps most important, the urgency with which he lived his life. Darin knew from a very young age that his life would likely be cut short due to a heart condition. And that simply drove him to do the best he could, and to do it as quickly as possible. Spacey's singing talent is a wonder to behold. Without actually imitating Darin, he manages to capture Darin's charisma and stage presence and well as his singing characteristics and mannerisms. While I never forgot that it was Spacey I was watching, I found his performance to be entirely believable. It was obvious that Spacey, the actor, thoroughly loved what he was doing and that every ounce of his being and all of his energy had been invested into this role. This man is a multi-talented individual who tackled a very difficult project and somehow managed to pull it off - beautifully. Highly recommended!

A film with a split personality!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 March 2008]

This film is like two films merged together. One is a very superficial and often inaccurate biopic of the life of Bobby Darin. Major omissions and chronological errors abound and the Biography Channel's show on Darin's life is far better than this film. It just didn't seem like Bobby Darin's life but a caricature of it. The other film is a wonderful showcase of Kevin Spacey's many talents. Instead of just acting, he did a wonderful job of crooning as well as dancing--often in segments that were surrealistic music videos as opposed to traditional story telling. While glitzy and silly, this aspect of the film I really liked. Because of this film's unusual style and manner, it was if the film was more a free form musical picture "inspired by the life of Bobby Darin". It also seemed like it was more a showcase for Spacey than a homage to Darin.

So apart from the fact that the film isn't good historically speaking, it is wonderful from a purely aesthetic point of view. The music is well sung, bouncy and ranks high on the "cool factor". Provided your expectations are low regarding Darin's life story, you'll enjoy yourself--you can't help it.

Overall, I give it a 7 as it is very entertaining (despite its very odd style). Some reviewers gave this film a 1 or a 10 and both extremes seem way out of line. Ones make no sense at all because the film is well made, pretty and enjoyable. The tens make no sense either because the script is a mess and is abounding with factual errors. For more on these errors, check out the trivia section on IMDb or read a biography on Darin's life. I really doubt if the many writers who contributed to this film even bothered finding such a biography but just read through a list of bullet points.

Beyond the Sea is as much about Kevin Spacey as it is Bobby Darin.

[JohnDeSando · 17 December 2004]

If you can overcome what I can't, you will enjoy Beyond the Sea: Kevin Spacey is too old to play Bobby Darin, the 50's pop singer who died from long-term effects of rheumatic heart at 37. At times Spacey is playing Darin in his twenties when no matter how you tighten and pin Spacey's face, he is still a 44-year old man with all the lovely creases and bags time awards. The dislocation bothered me so that I couldn't fully appreciate what is otherwise an outstanding performance.

But then Spacey is the director, so he has to be responsible for miscasting (or put another way, why didn't he do this 10 years ago when no one on this planet could have denied that he is the perfect Darin?). As John Irving said in "My Movie Business" about the choice of actors, "Looks do count." Although others have criticized Beyond the Sea as a Spacey vanity project, I found his performance believable and engaging with style appropriate to the best lounge singers of the time (Sinatra included) and spot-on perfect for Darin, if not better than the original. I've heard Spacey is touring with his band to promote this biopic; I'd go just to enjoy Spacey as a gifted singer.

The only moments to get past the many Darin songs and into his life are those centering on the influence of his "mother" (Brenda Blethyn, "Secrets and Lies") and his marriage to Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth). In the former, Blethyn does a bit of singing and dancing to show that Spacey is not the only multi-talent on the set. In the latter, the pop- culture lite of their romance is handled believably, as one might try to do David Beckham and his spicey love, a marriage just a vacuous and emblematic as the Darins'.

The irony of Sandra's mother wanting her to go after Rock Hudson rather than Darin brings laughter, intended for sure, as the audience is aware of Spacey's contending with rumors about being gay. Even jokes about Darin's toupee resonate with Spacey's own rugs in real life and for this part. Spacey doesn't take himself as seriously as critics do (witness an early scene where in the framing device of Darin filming his own life, he is accused of being too old to play himself).

The conjunction of subject and biographer is challenging at best. Paul Murray Kendall in "The Art of Biography" says, "On the trail of another man, the biographer must put up with finding himself at every turn: any biography uneasily shelters an autobiography within it." In that sense, Beyond the Sea is as much about Kevin Spacey as it is Bonny Darin.

This biopic ranks third next to Ray and De-Lovely; in another less-full year, it would be the best.

Two different movies?

[tsmith417 · 6/10 · 9 July 2008]

I liked the first half of "Beyond The Sea", with its production numbers and people dancing in the streets and love blooming all over the place and rising above adversity to achieve fame and fortune ...

... but then the second half was like a whole different movie. No more dancing in the streets, nothing to be happy about at all, just illness, alcoholism, politics, audience rejection and early death.

Okay, so maybe real life ain't all singing and dancing and fantasy but if it ain't, then why have it in the movie to begin with? What started out to be a fun film turned somber so quickly that it was distracting. I kept waiting for the fun to come back and it never did.

I had no problem with the age thing but I wish they had used Darin's original recordings. Kevin Spacey might have a fine voice but everybody knows how "Mack the Knife" is supposed to sound and Mr. Spacey changed it just enough to make his version seem somehow almost blasphemous.

An Excellent Tribute By A Fan, For Fans of Bobby Darin

[ackthpt · 10/10 · 1 January 2005]

I've been a big fan of Bobby Darin's music for decades, particularly his renditions of standards and I have to agree with Gene Shalit on this, Kevin Spacey nails as best he can, without plastic surgery the late great singer. The film is, as Spacey says in the film, a fantasy and works on many levels, beginning with an attempt at a biographical picture and disecting his life through his eyes and through the eyes of a wary young man. Bob Hoskins as Darin's brother in law, Caroline Aaron as his sister, John Goodman as his manager and Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee all give excellent performances, without which I may have agreed with some other critics. As is, it's a strong performance and most of the critics who panned this film should reconsider who they think _their_ audience is. At 200 minutes, I never felt it was long and enjoyed the musical scores throughout. Thank you, Mr. Kevin Spacey, for a fine film I'll watch again and again. You should consider cutting an album of your own.

for someone born after Bobby Darin died, I feel...

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 24 June 2005]

I was born over a decade after Bobby Darin died, so I know about him only through songs. Now that I've watched "Beyond the Sea", I feel almost like I know him personally. Kevin Spacey, who also directs, plays the famous singer whose real name was Walden Robert Cassotto. Showing Darin's career, his struggles with rheumatic fever, and his tempestuous marriage to Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), the movie is like any biopic, but certainly worth seeing. It was really something seeing Darin doing folk music after having been a teen idol. Either way, Bobby Darin was quite a guy. I'm going to have to get my hands on a CD compilation of his songs.

Awesome

[jhammar · 8/10 · 4 January 2005]

For those who cannot "suspend disbelief" in order to enjoy a musical, this movie, and my review, are not for you. For the rest of us, "Beyond the Sea" is a delight.

I read critics who said Kevin Spacey is too old to pull off a 20-something Bobby Darin. Wrong! Kevin Spacey's acting captures the essence of BD; after the first ten minutes of the movie it seemed that Kevin Spacey WAS Bobby Darin irrespective of age. I also read critics who said Spacey's dancing was stiff and awkward. Wrong! The production numbers were fabulous. His singing, acting, dancing were awesome, and it's a performance that should not be short-changed in this year's awards' season (although I fear it might be overlooked).

Kate Blodgett, too, did a great job of portraying Sandra Dee (but I wish they had kept her hairstyles more true to Sandra Dee of the 1960's).

My only disappointment is that so many important details about Bobby Darin's life were quickly glossed over or totally omitted. For example, there was no mention of his early years in the Pocono's; his unfulfilled romance with Connie Francis; his friendship with Dick Clark; his songwriting collaboration with Don Kirshner; and his subsequent marriage after divorcing Sandra Dee.

Nevertheless, I loved "Beyond the Sea" and plan to see it again this week. I'm afraid it won't still be in the theaters next week. It almost appears as though some of Hollywood and the newsprint critics have dissed it with almost a jealousy toward Kevin Spacey's Herculean efforts to bring this to the screen, not to mention his compelling performance.

I don't know if it will attract a younger viewing audience; but, if you're a Baby Boomer, this is a must-see.

Spacey is beyond of just being a good actor, the man can sing!

[meeza · 7/10 · 16 September 2005]

Beyond my wildest dreams did I think that respected actor Kevin Spacey had such a spectacular voice singing Bobby Darin songs in the Darin bio flick "Beyond The Sea". Spacey, who also directed and co-wrote the flick, portrays Darin with admirable flair and gusto. His acting performance was definitely the "Splish Splash" of "Beyond the Sea". The legendary Darin died of heart failure at age 37 (which is how old I am, I hope that is not a sign that I am headed beyond the grave.) "Beyond the Sea" dives into Darin's childhood, marriage to Sandra Dee, enduring heart problems, his Hollywood career, and most notably his stellar singing profession. "Beyond The Sea" did include some components that should have been "Macked the Knife" in the editing room. The young Bobby Darin scenes were cumbersome and pleonastic; it almost drowned "Beyond The Sea". I guess Director Spacey got a bit spaced out! Also, Kate Bosworth's work as Sandra Dee did not convey enough charisma for me to say "look at Kate, she's Sandra Dee". It was close to being "deescipible". All in all, the actor Spacey daring efforts and triumph should be commended for his lifelong dream of developing a Darin bio. I guess he is a "Dream Lover" after all. **** Good

More of a Spacey showcase than an absorbing biopic

[jack_malvern · 5/10 · 11 November 2004]

Spacey sings. Spacey dances. Spacey wears a succession of ghastly outfits.

This biopic of Bobby Darin splits cleanly into two modes. In the first, Kevin Spacey does highly watchable singing and dancing routines. In the second, he portrays a rheumatic singer who defied doctors and male-pattern baldness to become a star.

Although the film flicks back and forth between the two modes, they never gel as one seamless story, which is a problem for a biopic of a man whose life contained only a handful of interesting events.

It doesn't help that Spacey's Darin interrupts the plot every so often by stepping back from the narrative and discussing the film with his younger self. It is a device that does little more than remind you that you are watching a film - a fact that is never far from your thoughts anyway because of the large number of somewhat contrived dance numbers.

Nor are the biographical sections very convincing. It is clear well before the extensive pre-credits disclaimer that the director has taken some diabolical liberties with Darin's life, making you wonder what you have learnt from the film. Did Darin really take his name from a half lit neon "Mandarin" sign outside a Chinese restaurant? Did he really die after a successful comeback gig in Las Vegas, or was that just a narrative invention to end on a high note?

The upshot is a film that is more a celebration of Kevin Spacey's impression of a world-renowned entertainer than a celebration of the entertainer himself.

It is a tribute to Spacey's talent as an actor that the film remains likable, not least because he doesn't have the polish of an accomplished director. Too many scenes feel as though he was too shy to make his fellow cast members do one more take.

There is enough energy on display to allow most Darin fans forgive the film's weaknesses, but the more picky viewer will feel slightly disappointed.

Give Spacey His Due Here

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 3 July 2006]

This has been called "a labor of love" by the man responsible for this movie: Kevin Spacey. He was driving force behind this biography being put on screen, even to the point of starring in the title role. This is the most amazing aspect of them all: Spacey's imitation of singer Bobby Darin. It's unbelievable! He sounds remarkably close to how Darin sounded. He did his idol proud, that's for sure.

Those who complain that he was told old to play the part are nitpicking. I am not a personal fan of Spacey. Off-screen, I think he's a jerk. However, the criticism of him here is simply unfair. The man did an incredible job imitating Darin - period. Who could have done better?

Kate Bosworth is also very good as "Sandra Dee," the actress who married Darin. She comes across as a very positive and nice person, a lot more than Darin whose problems are shown as well as his good points. He is not always a good guy.

The language is a little rougher than I'd like to see this in this music-biography. The bits with the kid were annoying, not profound as they were obviously trying to be. In fact, the film would have ended perfectly without that last 4-5 minute scene with the child.

Despite Spacey's presence this film runs the usual course for biographies

[rosscinema · 6/10 · 12 June 2005]

Some actor's were just born to play certain roles and Kevin Spacey has publicly stated that he was born to play this one and while he does possess a faint resemblance to the character one has to wonder if the life portrayed in this film is worthy enough for big screen treatment. This story is about the life of famed singer Bobby Darin (Kevin Spacey) who knew that he was living on borrowed time after battling rheumatic fever as a youngster. He never knew his father but was raised by his mother Polly (Brenda Blethyn) and her sister Nina (Caroline Aaron) and vowed to be a successful singer and replace the great Frank Sinatra.

*****SPOILER ALERT***** Darin hired his uncle Charlie (Bob Hoskins) and his friend Steve Blauner (John Goodman) to represent him and to help him rise to the top of the musical scene which he did with pop hits such as "Splish Splash" and others. He started to act in films and this is where he meets his future wife Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) who was heavily protected by her mother Mary (Greta Scacchi) but their marriage ended up having to endure alcoholism when her career started to go downhill. With the sixties came drastic changes in the country and the world and Darin had to figure out how to keep his own career going when he suddenly became obsolete but his life took a real turn when he finds out that his real mother is actually Nina.

Spacey himself directed this film and he's given partial credit for the script but the truth is that this project went through so many different drafts that no one knows for sure how many writers worked on it through the years. The big problem with this film has nothing to do with the casting of Spacey who is very good but the fact that Darin's life isn't exactly awe inspiring. He was decent singer and a decent actor and had average looks but truthfully the only interesting thing in his life was the secret about the identity of his mother. I also felt the film missed the boat when dealing with his relationship with his wife Dee who is portrayed as a shy woman who grew tired of supporting her husbands career. The truth is that Dee had some real inner demons of her own because of being molested at a young age and spent her life combating low self esteem and the script never really touched on these areas. The film's structure has the cliché angle of a movie within a movie with a young Darin aiding the current 37 year old with the accuracy of his life being portrayed on screen and this doesn't exactly come across in terms of being imaginative. There are several song and dance numbers but I don't think Darin was really that type of performer and it seems that the reason they are in the script was to allow Spacey the opportunity to show his own versatility. While I had many problems with this film I'm still recommending it because of two things and the first is the performance of Spacey who's personal drive to get this film made is evident in his spirited performance. The second reason is the latter part of the script where we see Darin struggling to reinvent himself when the climate of the country changed with the 1960's and his type of singing and music became outdated. This clearly isn't a riveting film and the script runs the usual gamuts as far as bio's go but it does offer a pretty good performance by Spacey who's own eagerness can be seen in his portrayal.

drowning in a sea of bad writing

[forget_it_jake · 1/10 · 18 January 2005]

Beyond the Sea is one of the worst films i have seen in a long while. The characters are all completely one dimensional, there isn't a shred of credible honest dialog in the entire film, Bobby Darin is not shown to have a single redeeming quality until 45 minutes into the film when the writer decided to throw in a schmaltzy, pointless one minute scene about him defending a black comedian.

Good scripts are built through positive and negative events, that eventually lead to a climax. This film goes virtually an hour with only a couple of negative events. His mother dies and it is sluffed off, and never dealt with. We never see any unconscious desire from Bobby Darin. His character just prances about, egotistically getting whatever he wants during the first half of this film. Good characters have a weak spot, they draw you in and create empathy or at least sympathy. This character had none of that.

There are so many clichés and obvious turns in this film, but what makes them even worse is the fact that they are never dealt with. We find out Sandra Dee has a drinking problem....Thats talked about for all of 5 seconds!! also, at one point, the story seems to be leading to the obvious tension of her being jealous of his career, but again they never bother to explore it, they just shelf the idea and move on to another positive beat regarding bobby darins' career.

To top it all off, in the middle of this boring story we have to put up with 5 different song interludes that stop the plot dead. 15 minutes of just sitting there in the theatre waiting for them to get on with it.

I cant for the life of me see how anyone could defend this film technically.

Beyond The Songs

[Lechuguilla · 29 January 2006]

Bobby Darin was a great singer and entertainer. And his untimely death at age 37 was most unfortunate. But, aside from one interesting revelation about his parents, I'm not sure that his life was any more deserving of a film than dozens of other singers and entertainers from the fifties and sixties. The fact that "Beyond The Sea" is mostly a musical tribute rather than a traditional biography suggests a lack of substantive material on which to base a two hour movie.

The film's complex structure is unusual, in that the adult Darin (Kevin Spacey) talks with himself as a child (William Ullrich) and the two of them, via flashbacks and fantasy, direct a movie about the adult's life. It is an interesting, though at times confusing, structural approach.

What I liked most about the film is the music. Spacey himself sings the songs. And he does a terrific job with the big band sounds of "Dream Lover", "Artificial Flowers", "Some Of These Days", "Beyond The Sea" and, of course, "Mack The Knife". The film's secondary performances are quite good, especially John Goodman. Production design is high quality, and the dance routines are well staged.

Overall, listening to Darin's songs was great. But I would have preferred a more traditional, linear biography. This movie reinforces the perception that talented performers who die young are more likely to get film tributes than talented performers who live to an old age. Maybe, in some way, Hollywood feels guilty at the premature loss. Or, maybe, an early death makes the entertainer, over time, seem more idealized.

Saw advanced screening last night

[Reeltimer · 6/10 · 22 December 2004]

I was a little leery on seeing this film, but must say that I enjoyed it. I haven't seen too many biographies, so I didn't have too much to compare it too.

I thought the dancing and the music were light and good. Really was surprised at Kevin Spacey's voice

The first half of the movie was better than the second. It moved along quicker. I enjoyed the humor in the movie.

At times, the age difference between Spacey and Bobby were too evident.

I thought Kevin Spacey did a nice job, and his voice sounded good.

I thought the way that they ended the film could be better and more dramatic.

If you were a teen or young adult during this time, you should enjoy the movie

Well acted, but not quite a top notch film

[Vash2001 · 7/10 · 1 January 2005]

I went to see this movie with no expectations at all. I did not know much about Bobby Darin, except that he was a popular singer who died young. I did not know any of his songs, but I had heard that he had married Sandra Dee, who I saw in a rented tape of Summer Place. I saw an interview of Spacey on Larry King Live and it got me interested because Darin's son seemed to support this movie. I like Kevin Spacey as an actor and he does a very good job of bringing out the person in the Darin character. I was amazed to see that he could sing and dance quite well. Kate Bosworth, who looks beautiful as Sandra Dee, does justice to the character. Considering her young age, it is astonishing that she played the actress over a range of age. I liked the first half of the movie. The movie should have attained greater heights in the second half but it did not.

SPOILERS AHEAD....

The child 'Bobby Darin' kept interfering with the flow of the story. Introducing the child worked well in the first part of the movie, but toward the end it brought the movie down quite a bit. Particularly the last conversation between the two Darins, and the sing & dance after Darin's death were uncalled for, or it should have been very brief. The movie lost its intensity due to the addition. Earlier, when the secret about Bobby's mother is out, and he publicly acknowledges her as his mother, it was a high point of the movie, but it got lost. Toward the end when he performs great ("He is back!!") in a night club, just before he is rushed to the hospital, it was another high point. Darin's conversation with his son, and the son opening the suitcase which indicated that Bobby had passed on, were touching. However, again, the final song diluted it for me. It would have been much more effective to not bring back the child for so long, and instead a gallery of Darin's pictures while performing would have been more effective after his death in the movie. Another way would have been to simply add a footnote after his death.

From what I heard, in real life Darin and Dee divorced (the movie shows the tensions between them quite well) and he remarried. From the movie one would think that they never divorced, and that they were separated for only a brief period while Darin moved to an isolated spot and lived in a trailer in an effort to discover himself.

I was shocked when I first heard that Kevin Spacey was going to play Bobby Darin. I thought he was too old to play someone who died at age 37. Spacey does an admirable job of portraying the character, and directing the movie. Still it was hard for me to forget the difference in age. I cannot comment on the singing because I have not heard Bobby Darin's songs.

Inspite of its flaws this is a pretty good movie (7/10). Definitely worth seeing once. However, those more acquainted with Bobby Darin's work, may have a different reaction to it.

Enjoyed it!

[mstomaso · 9/10 · 7 January 2007]

I had some misgivings about two entertainers whose work I enjoy so much (Bobby Darin and Kevin Spacey) being combined in this biopic. Let me say up front, however, that this film exceeded my expectations by several miles.

In answer to some of the standard complaints

(1) If you think Spacey is too old to play this role, you should reconsider what the film is depicting. This film is a retrospective which looks back from the latter part of Darin's career (reminiscent of his self-referential comments in The Bobby Darin Story). He is not supposed to be young. This is also one of the reasons why so much of the narrative keys on his relationship with his younger self embodied by the actor he has picked to play himself in his autobiography.

(2) If you believe Spacey can't sing.... well.... I give up. People tend to have very narrow and hardened opinions about music - regardless of how tone deaf they may be. Spacey may not bring much originality to the singing style of Bobby Darin, but, in my opinion, he pretty much nails Darin's voice and overall style.

(3) The characters are shallow? What film did you watch? OK, Darin lead a charmed existence compared to Johnny Cash and Ray Charles. After all, he never developed a serious drug addiction, nor did he have to go through a painful divorce. And he wasn't blind. The only real tragedy in Bobby's life was being diagnosed with a terminal illness in his early teens, not knowing his parents throughout most of his life, and never living up to his own standards... minor problems compared to the "deeper" ones portrayed in other "more serious" biopics? Ya whatever. Depth does not equal self-destructiveness and depression, IMO.

This film stands as a great achievement for Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and others. The cast is excellent, and the writing and directing are superb. The music is as entertaining as the action of the narrative, and very well blended into the story. The film achieves a powerful surrealism which is very rare for biopics and has unfortunately been neglected in most contemporary musicals, as it portrays Darin's inner and outer worlds with equal weight. Although the subject matter is very very different, Beyond the Sea's musical method reminded me of the beautiful "Dancer in the Dark".

Darin's story is a story of the profound love, dedication to craft, and the desire to be the best, which allowed a dying man to miraculously prolong his time with us for decades, and way beyond his time of death.

Terrific Trubute

[bob-rutzel · 7/10 · 15 July 2005]

This is a terrific tribute to Bobby Darin, a pop star of the 1950s and 1960s. Kevin Spacey plays the Darin role and is excellent. He does all the singing too, but I wouldn't have minded if he lip-synced the songs. For those who never heard of Bobby Darin they would have heard the real deal and would have been impressed. For the rest of us, well, that would have been really nice and pleasant memories of that time would have surfaced. Also, many would have been impressed with Darin as a performer as well as his singing.

I also didn't mind the fact that a 40-something (Spacey) wooed a very young Sandra Dee. True, they could have gotten a younger someone to play that part in Darin's time, but it worked as it was. I didn't have a problem with it. They "younged" Spacey up pretty good for those scenes.

Kate Bosworth, who played Sandra Dee almost looked more like Sandra Dee than Sandra Dee herself. Amazing.

We learned how Bobby Darin changed his name from Cossuto (or something like that) to Darin.

There is something else that comes out too and is kind of startling, but I won't reveal it here.

There were only two things that kind of bothered me. Spacey didn't curl his lips enough as Darin did. Also, after about half of the movie goes by you see more Spacey than Darin. I guess they figured by that time we bought it. Well, I didn't. I had to remind myself that this was Darin.Moot point, but hey, we are talking about doing someone's life and if in the first half of the movie Spacey looks like Darin, he should continue to look like Darin for the rest of it.

But, all in all, a terrific presentation and tribute to one of our best pop or rock and roll singers.

Love Affair with Bobby Darin

[karradiane · 10/10 · 1 January 2005]

Imagine being witness to a celebration of the supremely talented Bobby Darin. Breathing life into this gifted entertainer must have been a daunting task, yet Kevin Spacey succeeded in recreating the musical high of Darin's lifework as well as allowing the viewer a glimpse of a vulnerable human being, not unlike the rest of us. I'm sure that by now you've read how Mr. Spacey's musical performance in "Beyond the Sea," was brilliant, and it was. What I'd also like to mention is the sweet tenderness he brought to the love affair between Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee; at times I felt like an eavesdropper. It was quite obvious in the way this movie was written, acted, and so beautifully directed that Kevin Spacey really likes Bobby Darin. In that, he struck a chord with the audience I watched the movie with today. We all really like Bobby Darin, too. Thank you, Kevin Spacey. Bravo!

"Tonight the part of 'Bobby Darin' will be played by ..."

[majikstl · 6/10 · 24 September 2007]

BEYOND THE SEA is like being a dinner guest, where after the meal the host insists on entertaining you with a few funny stories. Then his celebrity impersonations. After he sings a few standards while accompanying himself on the piano, you impatiently look at your watch and announce that it is getting late -- but first he insists that you just have to see his tap dancing routine. When he mentions he once studied mime, you start looking for a blunt instrument. Somewhere it has become clear that he isn't trying to entertain you, but that you are there for his benefit; a captive audience for his one-man show. In theory, BEYOND THE SEA, sets out to prove that 60's pop singer Bobby Darin was a wonderful guy, a great talent and a legendary entertainer, but it quickly becomes clear that it's real agenda is to prove that Kevin Spacey is a wonderful guy, a great talent and a legendary entertainer. Yes, BEYOND THE SEA is "The Bobby Darin Story," but very quickly Mr. Darin gets upstaged as "An Evening with Kevin Spacey" takes over.

Watching the movie, it isn't clear whether you should admire Spacey for his ambition, enthusiasm and sheer showmanship, or be silently appalled by his rampant egotism. And while he does a good job as the director and the writer and the star and as one of the twenty-one listed producers, he doesn't do a great job as any of them. He doesn't embarrass himself by any means, yet the film never even comes close to blowing the audience away.

It is in casting himself as Darin that Spacey most puts himself on the line. At age 45, he portrays Darin from his teens until his death at 37, and Spacey makes little attempt to adjust his appearance accordingly. Early on, someone points out that he is too old to be playing Darin, but he replies that he is Darin and therefore can't be too old to play himself. It is one of the gimmicks of the film that Spacey is directing himself playing Darin who in the film is directing a film about himself. Thus there is an attempt to juggle reality and theatrical artifice as a means of disguising the obvious, that Spacey is just wrong for the part. And worse, he doesn't even try to disappear into the character. He wants us to know that he is Kevin Spacey and is only pretending to be Bobby Darin. While he looks like he possibly could be Darin's distant cousin and his singing is surprisingly good, Spacey's appearance, voice and mannerisms just aren't going to fool anyone who even has the vaguest memory of the real Bobby Darin.

Taking Bobby Darin out of the equation, the film isn't all that bad. The supporting cast (John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Caroline Aaron) is solid, though Kate Bosworth's interpretation of Sandra Dee lacks any of that actress' trademark sparkle. The Hollywood clichés are all there (star haunted by his past; lovers torn apart by rival careers; the struggle up the ladder, the career slump and the triumphant comeback, etc.), but Spacey handles them adroitly by playing with the timeline and indulging in fantasy scenes. And Spacey obviously enjoys his little camera tricks and theatrical flourishes, such as the interaction between the adult Bobby and Bobby as a child. (Wisely Spacey allowed the talented William Ullrich to play the Young Bobby, rather than dropping to his knees to play the role himself.)

But, it still comes back to Bobby Darin; during the musical numbers, you can't help but to suspect that Darin could have done it all so much better. And, though most people would argue that Spacey is the better actor (debatable, to be sure), even in the dramatic moments you might wonder whether Spacey has the same innate charm that Darin so casually invested in his occasional acting performances. So, while it is indeed a pleasure watching Spacey having so much fun singing and dancing and unexpectedly playing a character who actually has charisma, something rare in his career; the film has a ALL ABOUT EVE strangeness to it. Spacey's the understudy whose reverential praise of the star seems sincere, but self serving and calculated.

Between Ego and Ego

[watbarr · 5/10 · 30 May 2006]

I imagine that Bobby Daris must have been one of Kevin Spacey's fantasies or obsessions. It clearly blinded him. Much like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" seeing herself as the young and sensual Salome. Did Kevin Spacey really believed that one line of dialog "you're too old to play yourself" was enough to redeem the fact that he was too old to play Bobby Darin? I think that age was just one of the problems. Bobby Darin's success was based, mostly, on his persona. A good singer yes, but his quirky, sexy presence did the rest. Kevin Spacey is a good actor, specially playing devious characters or insignificant people but one could hardly call him sexy. The film has some wonderful moments, terrific musical numbers, an unrecognizable and very funny Greta Scacchi as Sandra Dee's mother, but it would have been such a great, intelligent move,on Mr Spacey's part to keep himself behind the camera and find the perfect Bobby Darin to nurture the legend. Well, I assume that the portrayal of a fragile ego by an egomaniac makes some sense somewhere along the line.

Kevin Spacey is the actor that seems to be able to do anything.

[terri2003 · 10/10 · 10 December 2004]

Even though he's been making movies since "Heartburn" in 1986, and most of us have probably heard of "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" from 1989, "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects" from 1995, but it wasn't until "American Beauty" came in 1999 that he became a familiar name amongst movie critics. The role also won him an Oscar.

I've been a swing/jazz fan for a long time, and I'm being hit my minor anxiety attacks when artists like Robbie Williams and recently Westlife decide to do "a swing thing" and miss the whole point about the genre. Those who call Robbie Williams a crooner know just about as much about the genre as he does. So when I heard about Kevin Spacey's project a couple of years ago, I was automatically skeptical. By then I'd already heard him sing "That Old Black Magic" from the Clint Eastwood production "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" (1997) and he had a good voice, but performed the song like a pop song. Something the above mentioned artists also have a tendency to do.

Kevin showed up at the Michael Parkinson show last month to promote the movie, and announced he'd also be singing two songs: "Beyond The Sea" and "Mack The Knife" with a live orchestra. I was nervous. Up until the point where he started singing, that was. He's spent the last 12 years making this project perfect, and has received blessings from both Sandra Dee and her son with Bobby, Dodd.

Beyond The Sea - the movie: It all kicks off when Bobby Darin (Spacey) enters the stage and sings "Mack The Knife". If you've had any preconceptions of his ability to sing or perform, this will disappear before he's reached "...pearly white..." He nearly performs the whole song, but interrupts and a director shouts "cut". In the break a journalist shouts "isn't he too old to play this role?!" after him, upon where his manager sneers, "Don't listen to him, Bobby. How can you be too old to play yourself?" It appears we're on the set of the movie where Bobby Darin plays himself. Which makes it okay that he doesn't look 20 in the early scenes.

Not far into the movie he meets Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) on the set of the Rock Hudson movie "Come September" in 1961, and a romance blossoms. A bit of back and forth later, particularly with Sandra's mother, they become a couple and marry within two months. The fact that they hardly know each other adds up to certain problems, but even though they fight like cat and dog at points, there's always the underlying affection for each other. You get the feeling that it's the ultimate romance.

It's eventually this turbulent - but heartwarming - love affair and Bobby's performances where the focus of the movie lies, with a glimpse into his political phase during the Vietnam war when he lived in the middle of nowhere on his own. This bred the song "Simple Song Of Freedom" and an attempt at a comeback with a new image. We follow him all the way up to his last performance and an alternative ending that's very, well, swing.

The Soundtrack: Not only is the movie a work of art, Kevin shows an almost unbelievable talent for the genre. He's been taking singing lessons since the late 90's, and has studies every little detail in Bobby Darin's voice and being, most on and off stage. Everything looks and sounds right.

Kevin's vibrato is perfect. Smooth, subtle and last but not least... it's done properly. Some singers don't have a clue how to do a proper vibrato and sound like they've got something stuck in their throat when attempting one, but Kevin does it brilliantly. His phrasing is also spot-on, and he's got a lung-capacity that even professional singers can envy him. Bobby Darin went through different stages, from swing to light country, and Spacey says he's spent years with Darin songs on his iPod and kept hotel guests awake at night, singing his songs. Just to get it right.

He's done everything and then some to make everything sound as perfect as possible and succeeded. The orchestra also sounds amazing, and it's wonderful to hear real instruments on a 2004 album. He recorded all songs at the Abbey Road Studios - where the Beatles put down 172 songs - with the legendary Phil Ramone producing.

Conclusion: Kevin Spacey once said that 'the less you know about me as a person, the easier it is to believe I am that person on the screen' and he's right. I don't know anything about him and I don't want to know, because when I watch "Beyond The Sea" it's not Kevin Spacey I see - but Bobby Darin.

excellent celebration of an entertainer, though with flaws

[lpdm_kino · 6/10 · 26 January 2005]

First, let me say that whatever you read about this film is true. If you read it's a great film - it's true, if you read it's a poor film - it's true. That's how the whole movie is, uneven - some really great moments and some quite poor. Once you overcome the notion that Kevin Spacey is too old to play Bobby Darin (if you can ever do that because he keeps reminding us about it just when you thought you forgot about it) you are in for some really great moments. Actually, I don't really care who is too old or too young to play whom, or whether he looks like Bobby Darin. I don't think Howard Hughes looked like Leonardo DiCaprio, and I have doubts that Rocky Graziano looked like Paul Newman.

What Kevin Spacey does the best (and he is probably the best living actor who does that at all) is playing the state of mind, the process how the character evolves. You can sense it and immediately relate and connect to that. When director Spacey is not in the way of actor Spacey (and vice versa), that is when that genius shines through, but then you get some really lousy shots, especially some close-ups that tend to be rather pretentious, intruding, and empty; and it takes time to get back. But the music and the singing makes up for all of that. Musical numbers are shot with grandeur and radiance, but also with love. From the light-hearted Splish-Splash, to gentle and funny montage of Beyond the Sea, to magnificent Simple Song of Freedom, these numbers are great entertainment and provide pure joy. Spacey's singing is simply great! If you ever saw Bobby Darin in a movie, you would notice that he had a magnificent presence on a screen, he was a force, full of energy, and Kevin Spacey catches that force and shows that passion in his version of Bobby Darin. The other cast includes great actors, but they don't have much to do. Kate Bosworth looks lovely, but has very little to do either, though she has a few shots that manage to show what Sandra Dee might have felt as a young actress-wife to such a self-centered person as Darin probably was.

****SPOILERs**** As for the structure of the film, the device of using young Bobby interacting with the the older Darin who makes the movie about himself is not so odd. It's similar to what a few biopics this year have. It works a little better here than in De-Lovely (which seemed really creepy), but very far from excellent The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (where somewhat similar approach looked natural). The scene after the Oscars (which Darin did not get), when Darin crashes his car, just like the scene in Peter Sellers movie where Sellers crashes his son's toys, tells more about the person than the whole movie. *****

I did not know much about Bobby Darin before the movie, and I learned little from it. Moreover, the film did not make me want to learn more. What it did make me to do is to get Bobby Darin records and listen to him, and for that I am grateful, as I discovered a wonderful singer with a great voice (I am talking about real Darin, not Spacey), and now I would rather listen to Bobby Darin than Sinatra. It's a wonderful, joyful film, a real celebration of a versatile entertainer and incredible singer. Whether you are fan of Kevin Spacey or not - watch this film and you will become a fan of Bobby Darin. At the end, you forget about the flaws the film has, and you do want to applaud for 2 hours of pleasure and entertainment.

Beyond the Sea of Reason

[fredbreakfast · 1/10 · 28 July 2005]

I am a huge Bobby Darin fan and waited for years for this movie. I had heard it was not good but....I finally rented it on pay per view. I never do this, but I turned it off mid movie. It seemed like "All That Jazz" meets Bobby Darin.....in a really bad way. I feel like writing Kevin Spacey to say that there is no way that he is a big fan or he would never have put this movie out. No wonder he had to go over seas to have it made. yuk!!! I will now try to erase the memory of this movie with my fond memories of Bobby Darin. If you want to see Bobby as he really was rent the movies he made and watch his old TV show or just listen to his records, sorry down load his songs. That is the real Bobby not this Broadway production.