Beyond the Sea

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.

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.