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by Jordan Hiller

 Beyond the Sea (2004)

It may be due time to revisit Bryan Singer’s strong 1995 debut The Usual Suspects. Yes, I know TBS dubbed the film a “New Classic”, but by no means is it hallowed ground. Sure, everyone likes the twist ending, but as hindsight is twenty-twenty, the movie grows increasingly touchable with each passing year. And at the center of the controversy is the Oscar winning performance by the then relatively unknown Kevin Spacey. Kevin appeared in a film or two before (Seven, Consenting Adults) and always managed to catch your eye and provoke interest, but his range and star quality remained questionable. As Keyser Söze, the mysterious omnipresent sociopath, he blew movie-goers away. So subtle and pathetic; his mannerisims compulsive; delivery, a smarmy monotone with teeth. The guy was a breath of fresh creepy air. Much like Travoltas’ turn in Pulp Fiction, Spacey coasted off that one performance to this very day. Only now, looking back after suffering through one unwatchable Spacey sell-out flick after another (with rare gems like American Beauty thrown in for posterity), wherein he regurgitates the same mannerisms and delivery over and over again, do we realize that like Dave Kujan, we’ve been had. That Spacey, in Suspect, for the first time on a grand scale was doing no more or less than delivering the standard Spacey performance. Kujan may have believed after his interrogation fiasco that Verbal Kint deserved an Oscar, but we were guilty of actually giving him one.  Spacey has always carried himself with an air of pretension, but 2004 has been for Spacey pure self indulgence, at our expense.

In Hollywood, the height of misguided vanity is actors who want to direct (Clint Eastwood a rare exception). This very year, Kevin Spacey produced the abominable Unites Sates of Leland and directed the heartbreakingly painful Beyond the Sea. I use the word painful purposefully because despite my current disdain for Spacey, I don’t blame him for K-Pax, Pay it Forward, The Shipping New, Life of David Gale etc. – I blame the studio’s insatiable desire to repeat an earlier success…even if it takes between ten and twenty years at three tries a year. A talented actor merely does the best he or she can, and is usually limited by an unfocused, unimaginative director or implausible script. I still stupidly get excited each time I see a preview for a new Spacey film. Here’s the pay off pitch, I say. He’s been saving up for this one. Only to watch another fastball die deep in the right field bleachers. Spacey has talent to spare and if used appropriately can be effective, sometimes brilliant (Glengarry Glen Ross for example), however he must take the full blame for Beyond The Sea because he conceived it. It is his child. Unfortunately, as any parent would feel for his child, Mr. Spacey clearly has an impassioned and intense love for this Bobby Darin biopic, and like a parent, he will be devastated by its sure failure. There  is no doubt that Spacey idolizes the charming wunderkind 1950’s crooner and, with a lack of foresight and nuance, bulldozed his way through this laborious affair. Because I choose mercy over vindictiveness, and because I implore the practice - I respect the devotions it takes to dream so big that you sacrifice better judgment to live the dream - I will leave the relentless criticism of the film itself for other writers…and because it would be too time consuming.  On a positive  note, Spacey’s singing and dancing is spirited and Kate Bosworth glows (although she should stick to more mainstream films).

Listen Mr. Spacey (and if bangitout’s exopanel is correct , you are) , it is time to regroup and salvage what remains of your reputation. Put the ego in check and remain in front of the camera. After that, the reinvigoration that your career desperately needs is beyond me.