Jeff Daniels, Tobey
Maguire, Joan Allen, Reese WitherspoonJeff Daniels, Tobey
Maguire, Joan Allen, Reese Witherspoon
Grade: A+
Kudos to Hollywood. Normally, when big studios decide they want to try to win some Oscars, they release hyped up, big budget artsy sort of films that always have at least one big star name (often two) to back up the conventional tear jerking elements such as death of a loved one, etc. Does anyone remember last year’s Mad City? Either way, probably taking off on the cue that such films were not only flopping at the box office, but also coming up empty when nominations were announced, Hollywood is taking a different approach. This year has been a celebration in the potential creativity of Hollywood. Earlier this year, New Line Cinema released the dark, ominous, yet hopeful film Dark City, which was nothing less than a visual masterpiece. No more than two weeks ago, I widely praised What Dreams May Come for its enchanting visuals and touching story. And now, we’re presented with Pleasantville, which is the only film to fully capture the beauty, sorrow, and poignant nature of Creative Hollywood.
Granted, is starts off hokey enough when two rvial siblings (Tobey Maguire and the always impressive Reese Withserspoon) are sucked into their television set, and placed in a 50’s sitcom called Pleasantville. This is a land where everything is perfect. People are nice to everyone else, everybody knows each other’s names, it never rains, the temperature is always 72 degrees, the basketball team has never lost, and everything is printed out simply in black and white. But with the arrival of these two strangers, everything starts to change. The residents of Pleasantville start to understand the joys of everyday life and individualism. And with the change that starts to take over the lives of every citizen, the black and white fantasy land slowly starts to merge with the world of color.
The satire quickly turns itslelf into a much deeper, more dramatic film, with more of a focus, and a purpous for being. Instead of just going for cheap laughs, Pleasantville seems to have something to say about our society, and the pointless struggle for perfection. Shortly after change strikes this "perfect" town, the citizens revolt in a manner that directly mirrors our own society (book burnings, "no colordes allowed"). The moments of the film that focus on the town’s reaction to change is both startling and overhwhelming in its power and creativity.
Performances are also top notch; the entire cast is terriffic. Tobey Maguire strikes all the right notes as the son, who happens to know every episode of the series by heart. Reese Witherspoon delivers some of the best moments in the film, as she introduces the high school students to such phrases as "cool" and "hey". She also gets the privelage of giving her mother (Joan Allen) the birds and the bees talk: "you see Mom, when two people love each other very, very much...". William H. Macy is perfectly cast as the troubled, stubborn father, and JT Walsh is seen giving his angered glare one last time in his final film. But it’s Joan Allen as the mother, desperate for the change that takes the town by storm, who steals this film with her dedicated, heart breaking performance.
Gary Ross, whose previous writing credits include the harmless Tom Hanks comedy Big, and the wonderful Kevin Kline comedy/drama Dave, does a great job balancing with humorous scenes with moments of sheer dramatic power. It’s hard to show an audience one thing (a satire on both our generation and 50’s TV Shows) and then try to make them swallow a social commentary about the traditions of society, and the need for individualism. Well, I swallowed every last bit of it, and the taste is still in my mouth.
Pleasantville is nothing short of brilliant, on every level of popular film making. It’s funny, serious, poignant, deep, the best film of the year, and one of the best films of the decade.