Review of Pleasantville

Introduction

Pleasantville has been compared to The Truman Show, in my view unfairly so. Despite a superficial similarity, especially the idea of an idealised TV world, the two films are quite different. Whereas the Truman show was an unsubtle warning of a Big Brother society, Pleasantville is a more fundamental morality play on the subject of tolerance and acceptance. In my view, Pleasantville is by far the better film.

David is a massive Pleasantville fan. He devotes most of his free time to watching it, and when the cable channel announces a Pleasantville marathon, David prepares for 10 hours of simple, down to earth family values from his ideal, black and white, fifties world. Unfortunately, his sister Jennifer has other ideas. She has a hot date and an evening planned watching a concert on MTV. Fighting over the remote seems to result in disaster when it is destroyed, but salvation arrives in the form of a mysterious TV repairman, who upon seeing David`s fascination with Pleasantville, gifts him with a magic remote control. As soon as the repairman leaves though, brother and sister start fighting over the remote again. A flash of light later, and David and Jennifer find themselves in the monochrome world of Pleasantville, assuming the roles of Bud and Mary Sue Parker. David, desperate to maintain the world he loves, persuades his sister to play the role she has fallen into, and vows to maintain the integrity of Pleasantville. Jennifer has other ideas, when she is attracted to the leader of the school`s basketball team. Soon colour starts to appear on the monochrome streets of Pleasantville, as its population are introduced to new ideas and ways of thinking. Then comes the inevitable monochrome backlash.

Video

The film is presented in the anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio Gary Ross directs this film and the visuals are a joy to watch. The world of Pleasantville is initially presented in a strong monochrome. It`s a clear, sharp black and white picture that establishes the world. It is that much of a shock when the colour images first appear. Rather than be obvious effects shots, they are often quite subtle, pastel when they could have chosen neon. This subtlety of effect makes the reality of the film even more convincing. These effects are so well done, that you often don`t know they are there and the story benefits strongly as a result.

Audio

You have the choice of a DD 5.1 or 2.0 English soundtracks. The music by Randy Newman is brilliant. His score is often subtle and unobtrusive, but can suddenly soar and raise the emotions with the narrative. It really is quite uplifting.

Features

This disc is very good for extras. As well as the obligatory trailer and filmographies, you get the Fiona Apple music video, which re-enacts the soda shop scene. The Art of Pleasantville is a 25-minute featurette that describes how the effects in Pleasantville were accomplished along with a discussion of the cinematography and the artwork used in the film. Finally there is an audio commentary from Gary Ross, which rather than concentrating on the mechanics of the film discusses the inspiration and thoughts behind the story. This is a different approach and it is quite enlightening and interesting, though at times I felt as if I was being lectured.

Conclusion

Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are the two teenagers who introduce Pleasantville to real life. They play the typical geek and it-girl well and it`s through their eyes that we see Pleasantville change. Jeff Daniels is Mr Johnson, the owner of the soda shop, who is initially constrained by the world he inhabits, but through Davis`s help he opens his eyes to the possibilities of freedom. Joan Allen is the mother of the family in Betty Parker. William H. Macy as George Parker is sensational. He plays the patriarch of the Parker family as the stereotypical fifties sitcom character, but his expressive face is amazing as the character`s world starts to fall apart. J. T Walsh makes his last film appearance as the town`s mayor, Big Bob. He is good as the solid rock of the town, determined to stand up to this new fangled colour stuff.

I really enjoyed the film and think highly of the story, far preferring it to The Truman Show, so why did I only give it eight for content? There is a problem that I find with this story. For 90 minutes, the story builds up gradually and subliminally. The moral tale, the satire and metaphors are gently expressed within the confines of the narrative, and you often have to stretch your mind to realise what`s going on. There are often two or three levels to a scene and you can feel the story growing more intricate as time passes. When the monochrome backlash against colour begins, it begins quite gently as you have been led to expect from the film, but then Gary Ross changes approach and uses a sledge hammer to drive the symbolism home. Violence erupts on the streets of Pleasantville, Nazi style book burnings are organised, fifties America style segregation of colour occurs, here quite literally so. I had already got the symbolism and I didn`t need such a preachy metaphor to make it so clear to me. The tone of the film quite changes when this occurs and I`m not convinced that it is a necessary change. Audiences are smarter than that. However, the film as a whole is still quite enjoyable. The beautiful imagery is brilliantly presented in this disc, as is Randy Newman`s excellent score. One worth watching.