Review
Pleasantville
- Director
- Gary Ross
- Year
- 1998
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- a.k.a. Jacinda
- Review date
- Sunday, November 12, 2000
In a mysterious way two teenagers played by Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are transferred to the world of Pleasantville, a TV family series from the 50s. The shy guy knows every detail about every episode and starts to like living in a perfect world where nothing bad can ever happen while Reese's character feels trapped in a world of boredom. As soon as they start introducing the people of Pleasantville to the secrets of sex, literature and art, the perfect world starts to crumble. People get to know the real pleasures life can offer and the world begins to change from black and white to Technicolor. A conflict between the still black and white citizens and the "colored" ones arises as some people can't deal with the fact that their world has changed.
This movie is often compared to "The Truman Show" but the films don't have many similarities besides the fact that both deal with TV in some way. While Truman is a strong criticism of the media, Pleasantville is a tale about human feelings and the need to live by them. I was really touched by the way people discovered their inner feelings - especially the character played by Joan Allen in one of the best performances.
My personal opinion is that she is far too underrated as an actress. I won't forget her trying to hide her colored face with the black and white makeup. By the way this film uses a lot of fantastic special effects that had never been applied before.
I can only recommend Pleasantville as one of the best places to stay!
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Other reviews of Pleasantville (1998): Morris
Comments
Coffee wrote at 6/22/2002:
I must admit -and I feel ashamed- that I haven't noticed Joan Allen before Pleasentville. I remember that she was great in The Icestorm but it always takes a while for me to remember a name. I can't wait to see her in The Contender! Jacinda wrote at 6/22/2002:
By the way did Pleasantville win any awards for the special effects? They actually appear to be very simple but I once read a report on how they colorized the movie and it's an amazing achievement. Morris wrote at 6/22/2002:
On the other hand, I've always been a fan of hers. I love her. She was heartbreaking in "The Crucible", amazing in "Nixon", incomparable in "Pleasantville", and I can't wait to see her in "The Contender". Oh, and I guess the special effects were nominated for an Oscar. They're amazing!
Jacinda wrote at 6/22/2002:
I checked it and 'Pleasantville' was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Score. Too bad it didn't win any of them. Groucho wrote at 6/22/2002:
So the visual effects were not nominated for an Oscar, huh?My God, what a great movie. I had always thought of it as quite a light movie, but then I saw and realized it went deep inside many serious themes. I loved it. It is the kind of movie that has not a bit of credibility in its premise but works much better than many "realistic" movies.
And those scenes where colored and black-and-white people are mixed... oh my!
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Morris wrote at 6/22/2002:
Couldn't agree more in every single aspect! This movie is memorable, outstanding. Loves everything about it, specially Allen and the music. A must-see and one of the best of the year!