Kevin Spacey serves as both director and star for this biopic based on the life and career of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, which moves back and forth between his childhood and adult selves to tell the tale of his remarkable life. Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby (played as a child by William Ullrich) was raised by his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), his brother-in-law, Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and his sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron). At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a
severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin (played as an adult by Kevin Spacey) takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), and despite the stern objections of her mother (Greta Scacchi), Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960s throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom. Kevin Spacey did his own singing for Beyond the Sea, recreating Bobby Darin's vocal style with uncanny accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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.
Spacey the actor bails out Spacey the director. He's been talking about his abiding love of Darin for quite some time, and he nails Darin in look, deed and buttery croon, making up for many of the film's structural deficiencies.
If Spacey's age problem proves an insurmountable distraction for literalists and Darin fans, his admirers will no doubt relish the chance to watch him sing, dance and basically take over the screen for two hours.
This is one of those rare movies that's so bad it's good, with lavish production numbers in which Spacey sings out of sync with the voice track and dances out of sync with his own feet.
Beyond the Sea is a heartfelt gem, so earnest, so joyful and so celebratory of Bobby Darin's spirit that the movie's flaws or embarrassments are completely irrelevant.
Kevin Spacey did a great job putting together the story of Bobby Darin, one of the most popular singers of his time in the 60's. Spacey directed and starred and even did his own singing and dancing in this film that chronicles Darin's childhood then skips ahead to when he's older and just starting out. Darin didn't
have drug and alcohol problems or anything else that gets thrown into your usual run-of-the-mill biopic. Bobby Darin was given just years to live, so he pretty much lived his entire life on borrowed time. He had the usual marital troubles and later finds out his sister is actually his mother, but - for better or worse - the story doesn't have the drama and theatrics that most films of these types seem to delve into and ride until the end. Still, Spacey did a terrific job in capturing the spirit and joy that performing did for Darin back in the day.
January 9, 2010
Derek Daniels
Super Reviewer
This movie did not live up to its tagline and all in all lacked a certain lustre that this kind of film demands. That's not to say that Kevin Spacey did a bad job directing or acting; he did them very well. I just don't know if he was the right person to do it.
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