Beyond the Sea (2004) * * *

Directed by:  Kevin Spacey

Starring:  Kevin Spacey, John Goodman, Kate Bosworth, Bob Hoskins, Caroline Aaron, Brenda Blethyn

Is Bobby Darin as significant a musical figure as Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra, the latter whom Darin idolized and whose star he wished to eclipse?    No.    He had some big hits, fell off the map, and then attempted a comeback which was ended by a heart ailment which ultimately took his life.    Darin's early childhood bouts with rheumatic fever caused doctors to warn he would not live past 15.    Darin not only lived past 15, he flourished into a star in music and movies, even earning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Captain Newman, MD (1963).    He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the strength of enduring hits like Dream Lover, Beyond the Sea, Splish Splash, and Mack the Knife.   

Kevin Spacey made as good a biopic as one could make about Darin, whom Spacey obviously idolized himself.     Spacey sings Darin's songs himself and is quite good.     Spacey plays Darin from his teenage years until his death at age 37.     He is a good enough actor to play a teen, or at least allow us to suspend our disbelief that the then-45 year old Spacey could play one.     Spacey felt Darin's life was one worth telling and for many stretches of Beyond the Sea, it is.   The movie is told by having Darin narrate his life from beyond the grave...perhaps.    It is sometimes a distracting storytelling device and an excuse to throw in some unnecessary musical numbers which break the spell Spacey cast, but it isn't fatal to the story.   

Spacey plays Darin as a repository of self-confidence, ego, and ambition.   He tells the parents of his future wife Sandra Dee (Bosworth), whom he meets while the two are filming a movie in Italy, that he goes after what he wants and usually gets it.     Yet, underneath the bravado is a sweetness which Darin displays when tactfully dealing with Sandra's jitters on their wedding night due to her virginity.     The ego comes later, which rears its ugly head after he loses the Oscar to Melvyn Douglas and scolds Dee for being "Gidget".    As the music landscape changes, Darin finds his demand drying up, which causes strains on his marriage and a brief flirtation with politics and folk music that ended mostly upon Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968.  

Darin attempts an ill-advised comeback as a folk singer crooning protest songs, which is met by apathy and derision by audience members who want him to sing Dream Lover.     His next Vegas comeback is more successful, in which he exudes more showmanship and follows the advice, "People hear what they see,".    This sounds deep and meaningful, but I will be damned if I know what it means.     Anyone who can explain would be doing myself and my readers a huge public service.   

Among the more powerful scenes involve Darin's sister Nina (Aaron), who has a secret she kept hidden from him for years which forces him to reexamine his relationship with her and his late mother Polly (Blethyn).   This revlation sends him further into a personal and career tailspin during the late 60s.    Darin also has a touching relationship with Charlie (Hoskins), Nina's husband who helped him launch his career and proves to be a selfless, loving supporter.   

Beyond the Sea is told with energy and passion during its best passages.    It isn't a perfect biopic, mostly because it goes over the top while being a little too self-aware that it is a biopic.    And a musical, but did we really need the dance numbers when we have enough of Darin's music to enjoy?   I suppose Spacey's enthusiasm got the better of him at times.