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A Review of PLEASANTVILLE From Someone Who Is Color-Blind
Harry here, and I wasn't planning on running any more reviews of PLEASANTVILLE except that... well this one got me. Here's someone that can't really see colors all that well. Their world is a bit like the world of PLEASANTVILLE and I thought, "What an amazing vantage point this person has on this film." There's always been this fascination I have with the 'film experience'. What is it like to watch a movie with no sound? What is it like to sit in an auditorium and not hear the film or the crowd. And to watch PLEASANTVILLE with the colors as you see them in your world. Well, that's something I can never experience. So enjoy this review, it's quite something I think.
Okay, Harry, I know you've already received a stack of reviews on
PLEASANTVILLE, but I just got back from an advance screening of this
incredible movie and I had to offer you my two cents.
First off, let me tell you two things about myself:
1. While I like a good comedy just as much as any other guy, I'm known to
my friends to favor somewhat serious material. Every time I recommend a
book or movie to my best friend Bobbie, she always asks me, "How sad is it?
How many people die?" This is not to say to that I'm a gloomy,
black-clad, Gothic moper, but whenever Bobbie says things like that it
always makes me hyper-aware of how I definitely DO have a tendency towards
more serious stuff. Needless to say, I loved BELOVED.
2. I am partially red/green color blind. This doesn't mean that I see
reds and greens in gray. It's just that those colors are sometimes are
harder for me to distinguish from basic reds and greens. For instance,
your typical green traffic light looks like dirty white to me, not green.
Now...on with my review.
Late last week, I somehow managed to score tickets to an advance screening
of PLEASANTVILLE that took place this morning. Thanks to your site and
others, as well as a few trailers, I thought I had an idea what
PLEASANTVILLE was about. Boy, was I wrong! Well, not wrong exactly, just
a little off the mark.
When I woke up (it was an early screening--10 o'clock, but the invitation
said to be there 45 minutes in advance), it was cloudy and gloomy outside.
A typical gray fall day. Cold and kinda foggy. Kinda poetic, I thought.
I'm going to see a comedy about kids who get stuck in a black and white
sitcom world and somehow manage to bring color to the sitcom's world. Much
to my surprise, though, the Back to the Future-esque comedy I had come to
expect from the trailers I'd seen turned out to be something entirely
different.
Oh, sure, this movie has some good laughs. But it isn't really a comedy.
It reminded me of a fairy tale (the "Once upon a time" cue early on the
film probably set that idea up in my head--but this time the movie actually
delivered). It was entertaining, but also thought provoking. Kudos to
Gary Ross for his knockout script.
What I especially appreciated, though, was the cinematography. And here's
why: as I said earlier, I'm partially red/green color blind. When color
first arrives in PLEASANTVILLE, it's subtle. I don't know if the
filmmakers had color blindness in mind when they made the film, but if they
didn't, they sure as hell DID stumble upon a lucky mistake. The reason I
say so is this, some of the first incidences of color (the girl's tongue,
the green car outside the soda shop) were hardly visible to me. They
helped me gradually segue into the shock of color, just as the residents of
PLEASANTVILLE did, instead of boom! here's a candy-apple red convertible.
Once color arrives in shockingly vibrant detail (the fire, Lover's Lane)
it's like stumbling onto a dream. The cinematography in this film is
ravishing. I literally wanted to take a bite out of the screen.
The performances were also just as subtle--Joan Allen, in particular. Her
quiet blossoming from a mousy PLEASANTVILLE sitcom-Mom prop into a sexy,
stunning woman was breathtaking. The scene where she discovers color (you
KNOW what scene I mean!) was absolutely startling, and oh so honest. I
haven't seen every movie this year, Harry, but if you know of a more
deserving Oscar-caliber, Best Supporting Actress performance, I'd
appreciate you letting me know about it so I can make sure to check it out.
As for the story itself, like I said, it reminded me of a fairy tale. I
felt transported by this movie. PLEASANTVILLE is a place I have never been
or seen before, yet it definitely had relevance to my everyday world. The
one thing it didn't have, that most fairy tales DO have, is a tidy ending.
In a way, the ending reminded me of THE TRUMAN SHOW. However, in Truman's
case, I found myself asking "How can they end it this way? What happens to
Truman now?" Leaving his cozy little dome might have seemed like freedom,
but I couldn't help but believe that leaving was the worst thing he could
do. The tabloid press and paparazzi would have hounded the poor guy until
he slit his wrists to escape again. PLEASANTVILLE has a similar, somewhat
ambiguous ending--and, for those of you who've seen the film, I'm talking
about Jennifer/Mary Sue's ending--which will leave many a viewer asking,
"How could that happen?" or "What next?" But the movie itself provides a
satisfactory answer. Who knows? That's what real life is like. It can't
be programmed like a TV sitcom. No one really knows what happens next.
And I like that. Not knowing all the answers is sometimes best.
I loved this movie, Harry. It's the best thing I've seen this year. And
it's definitely more serious than the candy-colored comedy that New Line is
advertising it to be. In this case, though, I'm glad of the misleading
advertisements. For once I can tell my friend Bobbie that nobody dies in
the movie, and I can also point to the commercials and say, "Look, it's
shiny and pretty, and funny, too." I think she'll thank me for
recommending this movie.
So that's it, Harry. If you decide to run this review, you can call me
Moonshine.
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I hahve to agree with this review. I just got back froma rpeview screening and it took my breath away. There were quite a few funny parts and some serious belly laughs, but it's not a comedy at heart.
What Moonshine didn't discuss was that the third act dealt alot with the bgotry that people were showing against those who were "Colored". there were "No Coloreds" signs in shop windows and two characters are arrested for painting in color. In fact the courtroom scene following the arrest reminded me of "To Kill a Mockingbird" with Gregory Peck. The Coloreds were up in the balcony where they wouldn't interact with the "Normal" folks.
The cinematography really was spectacular. The appearance of colors was subtle in some places, shocking in others. The mixture of B/W and Color was flawless and somewhat surreal. Go see it as soon as it comes out.
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I get the impression that this might not be a good movie to take my friend who's colorblind to - he can ONLY see red, so perhaps he'd see the first things which change color, and not be able to see the rest of it.
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Hey Harry--glad you posted this review. Not having all your faculties in perfect working order like the reviewer who posted this note can make for interesting moviegoing experiences. My wife is deaf and "Saving Private Ryan" was an entirely different experience for her than for me, to say the least. I was a snivelling mess at the end of the movie--actually, by the middle of the movie, too--while she was content to eat popcorn and watch the 'splosions, unaffected. (Her review: "It was just a war movie, right?") Other movies we've been to, say "Boogie Nights" or "Toy Story", can make her laugh what with the gaudy visuals. But when sound plays such a strong role in the whole experience, she's out in the cold. Edward Murch, the editor of the new 'Touch of Evil' cut, says sound is the single greatest ally a filmmaker can have and based on her responses to "SPR" I would tend to agree. BTW, I'm supposing that you nixed the www.moviepitch.com info I sent you because...?
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Cinescape Online reported today that the evil Jon Peters at the WB says they will probably film Superman next year and he still sees Nick Gage for the role. In addition, he is quoted as saying the script "is good. (I guess having a "great" script over at the WB would be bad form.) They are sticking with the "Superman Lives" script, i.e. the Death of Superman, which, in my opinion is unfortunate. Tim Burton is off the project and they are looking for a director and expect the budget to be between $90 and $100 million. This reeks, reeks, reeks of a Michael Bay project -- say it isn't so!!! I will venture that if this movie tanks, it will be a dark cloud over the WB's existing and potential comics-to-film franchises for years to come. WAKE UP WB!!!
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I have to agree with Lowang....
this review was more to the point and not retarded.
Superninja...get this through your
head: NO movie based on a comic is EVER going to live up to your expectations. It is impossible. I don't see Tim Burton doing anything better with the project. The only good thing he ever made was The Nightmare Before X-mas. His weird ass movies suck...yes..the batman films suck too...but someone has GOT TO GET RID OF NIC CAGE NO MATTER WHAT! -
All I can say, I burst out laughing when, there amidst the posts for PLEASANTVILLE, I see the title SUPERMAN LIVES SUCKS!!! (or something like that).
And then I check the posts, and see that there is absolutely NO segue whatsoever that leads into discussing the Superman movie. Believe me, I tried to find a remote segue somewhere.
So, to that poster -- this is a PLEASANTVILLE talkback. Not a SUPERMAN talkback.
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can't wait to see the film!
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Well written review my man, unfortunately as I'm English ( not that its unfortunate to be so) you'll probably all own it on video by the time we get to see it. Nice to read reviewers who can express themselves without resorting to saying fuck.
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Oct 21, 1998 1:57:08 PM CDT
HARRY: Show us SOMETHING from the STAR WARS script, asshole!!!!!
by scott "the man" chitwood
A point raised in a very..."violent" Star Wars talk back: Harry looks and talks JUST LIKE the fat comic book store owner in The Simpsons!!!! Another point: Harry: SHOW US SOMETHING FROM THE GODDAMN STAR WARS SCRIPT, YOU CHEAP ASSHOLE!!!!! Are you just trying to make your site more popular by tempting us with your knowledge of the script????!!! You are a goddamn asshole! Thanks for nothing, you fat-ass, candy-eating, child-molesting, nerdy bastard!
PS: I am going to ejaculate in my pants at the theater at the end of Episode I, when the credits start rolling! PPS: I am cool! -
Scott, I'm pretty sure Harry DOES NOT have the Star Wars script.......remember the midiclorian bullshit he was writing about? Do you think that nonsense is in the script? Why does he need other people to give him info on the movie when he's got THE SCRIPT?! Bullshit, man.......don't worry about that......oh, and I think many (you and I included) will ejaculate way BEFORE the end of EP 1.
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I have the exact same type of colourblindness as the person who wrote this review. His example of a pale white traffic light is dead on.
I never really thought about it, but I will probably experience the movie in the same way. I remember after seeing Schindler's List that my friends were talking about the girl in red, and I was like "What?!". Anyway, thanks for posting a colour blind look at a movie that really depends on it!
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The symbolism of `no coloreds' seems fairly obvious, at least to me. I wonder what people will make of it in South Africa, or, for that matter, the Deep South of the US.
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That should be `no coloreds', of course. Mea culpa.
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Awesome review MOONSHINE!
I saw this on opening day and I totally agree with you. It was kinda eerie to see the 50's issue of racism brought up in the film and the "No Color's" signs and the courtroom scene with the "color"ed people above and B&W below - it did remind me too of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Harry - keep MOONSHINE on as a regular reviewer ! Awesome job !
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