First, let me say that whatever you read about this film is true. If you read it's a great film - it's true, if you read it's a poor film - it's true. That's how the whole movie is, uneven - some really great moments and some quite poor. Once you overcome the notion that Kevin Spacey is too old to play Bobby Darin (if you can ever do that because he keeps reminding us about it just when you thought you forgot about it) you are in for some really great moments. Actually, I don't really care who is too old or too young to play whom, or whether he looks like Bobby Darin. I don't think Howard Hughes looked like Leonardo DiCaprio, and I have doubts that Rocky Graziano looked like Paul Newman.
What Kevin Spacey does the best (and he is probably the best living actor who does that at all) is playing the state of mind, the process how the character evolves. You can sense it and immediately relate and connect to that. When director Spacey is not in the way of actor Spacey (and vice versa), that is when that genius shines through, but then you get some really lousy shots, especially some close-ups that tend to be rather pretentious, intruding, and empty; and it takes time to get back. But the music and the singing makes up for all of that. Musical numbers are shot with grandeur and radiance, but also with love. From the light-hearted Splish-Splash, to gentle and funny montage of Beyond the Sea, to magnificent Simple Song of Freedom, these numbers are great entertainment and provide pure joy. Spacey's singing is simply great! If you ever saw Bobby Darin in a movie, you would notice that he had a magnificent presence on a screen, he was a force, full of energy, and Kevin Spacey catches that force and shows that passion in his version of Bobby Darin. The other cast includes great actors, but they don't have much to do. Kate Bosworth looks lovely, but has very little to do either, though she has a few shots that manage to show what Sandra Dee might have felt as a young actress-wife to such a self-centered person as Darin probably was.
****SPOILERs**** As for the structure of the film, the device of using young Bobby interacting with the the older Darin who makes the movie about himself is not so odd. It's similar to what a few biopics this year have. It works a little better here than in De-Lovely (which seemed really creepy), but very far from excellent The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (where somewhat similar approach looked natural). The scene after the Oscars (which Darin did not get), when Darin crashes his car, just like the scene in Peter Sellers movie where Sellers crashes his son's toys, tells more about the person than the whole movie. *****
I did not know much about Bobby Darin before the movie, and I learned little from it. Moreover, the film did not make me want to learn more. What it did make me to do is to get Bobby Darin records and listen to him, and for that I am grateful, as I discovered a wonderful singer with a great voice (I am talking about real Darin, not Spacey), and now I would rather listen to Bobby Darin than Sinatra. It's a wonderful, joyful film, a real celebration of a versatile entertainer and incredible singer. Whether you are fan of Kevin Spacey or not - watch this film and you will become a fan of Bobby Darin. At the end, you forget about the flaws the film has, and you do want to applaud for 2 hours of pleasure and entertainment.
What Kevin Spacey does the best (and he is probably the best living actor who does that at all) is playing the state of mind, the process how the character evolves. You can sense it and immediately relate and connect to that. When director Spacey is not in the way of actor Spacey (and vice versa), that is when that genius shines through, but then you get some really lousy shots, especially some close-ups that tend to be rather pretentious, intruding, and empty; and it takes time to get back. But the music and the singing makes up for all of that. Musical numbers are shot with grandeur and radiance, but also with love. From the light-hearted Splish-Splash, to gentle and funny montage of Beyond the Sea, to magnificent Simple Song of Freedom, these numbers are great entertainment and provide pure joy. Spacey's singing is simply great! If you ever saw Bobby Darin in a movie, you would notice that he had a magnificent presence on a screen, he was a force, full of energy, and Kevin Spacey catches that force and shows that passion in his version of Bobby Darin. The other cast includes great actors, but they don't have much to do. Kate Bosworth looks lovely, but has very little to do either, though she has a few shots that manage to show what Sandra Dee might have felt as a young actress-wife to such a self-centered person as Darin probably was.
****SPOILERs**** As for the structure of the film, the device of using young Bobby interacting with the the older Darin who makes the movie about himself is not so odd. It's similar to what a few biopics this year have. It works a little better here than in De-Lovely (which seemed really creepy), but very far from excellent The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (where somewhat similar approach looked natural). The scene after the Oscars (which Darin did not get), when Darin crashes his car, just like the scene in Peter Sellers movie where Sellers crashes his son's toys, tells more about the person than the whole movie. *****
I did not know much about Bobby Darin before the movie, and I learned little from it. Moreover, the film did not make me want to learn more. What it did make me to do is to get Bobby Darin records and listen to him, and for that I am grateful, as I discovered a wonderful singer with a great voice (I am talking about real Darin, not Spacey), and now I would rather listen to Bobby Darin than Sinatra. It's a wonderful, joyful film, a real celebration of a versatile entertainer and incredible singer. Whether you are fan of Kevin Spacey or not - watch this film and you will become a fan of Bobby Darin. At the end, you forget about the flaws the film has, and you do want to applaud for 2 hours of pleasure and entertainment.