BEYOND THE SEA

Two time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey is the heart and soul of BEYOND THE SEA, the glossy and engrossing film biography of the late crooner Bobby Darin, chronicling Darin's life from his battle with a life-threatening disease as a child, his incredible music career, his marriage to actress Sandra Dee, and the expected downfall of his career that we usually see in movies like this.

Spacey produced,directed,and co-wrote this spectacular look at the singer who, more than anything, wanted to be "bigger than Sinatra." The love and respect that Spacey has for the subject is glaringly apparent, not only from the care and obvious expense that went into the project, but from Spacey's energetic and vivid portrayal of Darin (and yes, he does most of his own singing too).

I can't recall the last time I have seen an artist work so hard at making a movie work, but Spacey's tireless dedication to this project shows in the finished product. Spacey's performance lights up the screen in one of the most entertaining showbiz biopics ever. How accurate is the film in regards to the facts of Darin's life and career? I don't know and I don't care, all I know is that find this movie richly entertaining and can watch it over and over again.

All of Darin's music is on display here, including "Splish Splash","Mack the Knife" and the title tune, which is effectively used to frame Darin's courtship of Dee in the film. Speaking of which, this was the one serious flaw in the film, the totally unconvincing and lifeless performance of Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, but Spacey does receive effective support from John Goodman as his manager, Bob Hoskins as his devoted brother-in-law and Caroline Aaron as his sister.

Grandly entertaining from start to finish and a must for Darin and Spacey fans.