Pleasantville
January 13th 2009 18:34
Pleasantville, 1998
I think that the inspiration for this script was someone saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side" while watching Leave It to Beaver. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.
Pleastantville tells the tale of a pair of twins, David and Jennifer (played by Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, respectively), who get sucked into the make-believe world of a 1950s sit-com. There is no color, there is no sex, there is no passion, and everything is absolutely perfect all the time - except that it isn't. Jennifer, the wild one of the pair, screws everything up when she starts "inspiring" people and things - and that's what starts to bring color into the world with a flower here, a bird there, and then people and more things. David, as the hard-core fan of the sit-com, wants everything to stay just the same... except that he finds out that he doesn't. William H. Macy and Joan Allen as the parents, George and Betty, are heart-breakingly brilliant.
The illustrating factor (if you'll forgive the pun) is that a life that goes perfectly, that never experiences mistakes, is bland and ultimately detrimental. Dealing with crises and changes and upsets and messy feelings make for a better chance not only of survival but of happiness. Things that seem perfect generally aren't that way in reality.
These are the standard everybody-gets-this themes.
What I really enjoy is the other part - the not-so-subtle demonstration of the nature of racism and segregation. The base nature of the ignorant (those who were still grayscale) to attack and denigrate those who were becoming aware (in color) shows a part of the racial conflict that I don't think many people see. It is not "animal nature" to hate something just because it doesn't look like you, as any trip to a playground will show you. It's a behavior that we pick up when we learn prejudice and fear - and something we can overcome as well.
Multilayered impress me, but they impress me even more when all of the layers are executed with such excellence. This is definitely a five star movie.
5 Stars
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