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Beyond the Sea (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:148
Fresh:63
Rotten:85
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Kevin Spacey’s bio of singer Bobby Darin is either a fearless piece of showmanship or an embarrassing vanity project, according to critics.
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $6,144,806
Synopsis: For BOBBY DARIN (Kevin Spacey), performing was his life. It kept his heart beating. He came alive onstage, even when he was near collapse offstage. In BEYOND THE SEA, Bobby tells his own story.... For BOBBY DARIN (Kevin Spacey), performing was his life. It kept his heart beating. He came alive onstage, even when he was near collapse offstage. In BEYOND THE SEA, Bobby tells his own story. At age seven, Bobby gets rheumatic fever that damages his heart forever. The doctor tells his mother POLLY (Brenda Blethyn) he'll be lucky to live to the age of fifteen. Polly and Bobby's older sister NINA (Caroline Aaron) take care of him, along with Nina's husband CHARLIE (Bob Hoskins). Modern medicine and determination keep him alive, his heart's still ticking, and by 20, with the help of his best friend turned manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) and musical director Dick Behrke (Peter Cincotti) he's working his way up, from tacky clubs to performing in Vegas, finally scoring a hit with 'Splish Splash'. But Bobby wants more. As he tells Life Magazine, he wants to be a legend by 25. MACK THE KNIFE makes him the star he's dreamed of becoming but for him this is only the beginning. The hits keep coming and his life keeps evolving, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in CAPTAIN NEWMAN MD. Never satisfied with success, Bobby continues to reinvent himself and moves from rock and roll into pop, gospel, country & western and folk music. By the end of his brief 14-year career Bobby Darin he's had more hits in more genres of music than any recording artist except Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. When he kicks off his acting career, he meets movie star SANDRA DEE (Kate Bosworth) while filming COME SEPTEMBER in Italy. He falls for her, but has to jump through hoops to get around MARY (Greta Scacchi), Sandy's possessive and overbearing mother. Despite her protests Bobby and Sandy get married and seem like the perfect Hollywood fairytale couple. But the conflict of her acting career and his touring puts a strain on the relationship. His dogged pursuit of fame and fortune isolates him from the very people who love him and believe in him. His master plan for 'Bobby Darin the star' doesn't leave much room for 'Bobby Darin the man'. [More]
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Brenda Blethyn, Caroline Aaron
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Brenda Blethyn, Caroline Aaron, Bob Hoskins, John Goodman, Greta Sacchi, Peter Cincotti
Director: Kevin Spacey
Director: Kevin Spacey
Screenwriter: Kevin Spacey, Lewis Colick
Producer: Kevin Spacey, Andrew Paterson, Jan Fantl, Arthur Friedman
Composer: Christopher Slaski
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Beyond the Sea
Primarily a showcase for the considerable talents of Kevin Spacey [who] is worth the price of a ticket, but the film's structure gets in the way.
More than 10-years in the making, the movie is a labor of love from Kevin Spacey, and Kate Bosworth is superb as Darin's charming wife Sandra Dee.
A two hour shoulder shrugger for those too young to even know who Bobby Darin is, and what all this fuss is about.
Many people under 40 may not even remember Bobby Darin, let alone know about his remarkable life story. Beyond the Sea may rectify that problem and stand as a wonderful tribute to an amazing talent who left us all too soon.
Kevin Spacey's dedication is clear, both in his performance as Darin and in his wonderful direction
holds nothing back. When it's time for this admittedly offbeat biography to swing, the exuberance of its director-star washes away a lot of reservations.
Serious moments have softened edges, the film rarely feels heavy. Always interesting and entertaining, but never especially deep and certainly not dark.
It brings little to the usual biopic formula of success followed by ego followed by breakdown, beyond general professionalism.
A showy, energetic little soap opera whose best moments come when Spacey plays it straight.
...this is a film that might -- like Coppola's One From the Heart -- develop something of a cult following
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