I recently re-watched this gem of a movie. This is, by far, one of my favorite films to date. This initially appears to be a somewhat light film about 2 modern day characters ( Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) that have a run-in with Don Knotts as a T.V. repairmen. The outcome of which ends them both in the T.V. show of Pleasantville. A place where the temperature is always 72 degrees, the sun always shines, and everything is in black and white, and ...pleasant.
After the initial shock wears off, both characters discover how 2-dimensional the characters in Pleasantville are. They find themselves as the main characters in a 50's T.V. show as children of George and Betty Parker. The actors in this film do a phenomenal job portraying a life devoid of passion. They find that all of the characters go about life in a mechanical fashion, without any knowledge of lust, hope, grief, or anger.
Reese's character (Jennifer) quickly turns to her old ways, and promptly takes her 'boyfriend' (Paul Walker of The Fast and the Furious fame) to lovers lane. She shows him the joys of sex, at which point, the exodus from Eden begins. Shortly after Paul drops Reese off at home, he sees a single red rose. By red, I mean this is the only non black and white thing in Pleasantville. From here on the movie reaches out and grabs you. It turns into a cascading affect of self discovery, both good and bad for the citizens of Smallville. Initially all of the high school kids enter onto this path, as glimpses here and there of pink bubble gum, neon signs at the local hang out/diner, rose red lips, and curiosity about the previously unknown world outside of Pleasantville. The Diner and Lovers lane become a place of color in a black and white world with many allegories to The Garden of Eden.
They discover things like love, lust, wonder about the world around them. This is where I disagree with many of the reviews here. This is a movie about passion. You have to look beyond the first and most obvious things that curious teenagers do. The changes in the children begin to happen with the parents. Suddenly dinner isn't cooked and ready at 6. A wife burns her husband's shirt with a iron because she was daydreaming. They see rain and rainbows in Technicolor for the first time, and a tree in front of the Parkers' household bursts into flame as the mother (Joan Allen) pleasures herself in the bathroom (with a little instruction from Reese Witherspoon on the facts of life). These scenes are all tastefully done.
From here the film takes a turn into the darker side of human emotion. Soon, the 'coloreds' are drawing attention to the fact that things are changing in Pleasantville. Signs stating that no coloreds are allowed start appearing on Main Street while the coloreds continue to explore themselves and the world around them. Angry mobs begin to form, trying to stamp out any sign of change. As each person discovers passion in some form (whether hate, love, lust, bigotry, grief, regret), they turn into coloreds who then initially hide in the local soda shop, desperate to escape the angry mobs outside. A new city ordinance is passed declaring what music is acceptable, and what colors are safe (as long as they are a shade of gray).
Jeff Daniels also shines here as the local Diner owner. He finds himself attracted to Miss Parker, who in turn finds herself drawn to him even though her character is 'happily' married. Daniels also finds he has a passion for art. He goes from a mechanical shop keeper to a person in love, who also stands defiant with Tobey Maguire in painting a naked mural showing Miss Parker. This sets off a riot, and ends with the Diner being trashed and a bonfire culminating in a book burning. Some of these moments have you sitting with a lump in our throat from the raw emotion the visuals and the music evoke from this film.
Suffice it to say; this is one of the finest and most original films I've ever seen, and certainly not to be missed. For those that think this is an attack on moral values, you have missed the point. This is not about lust, or promiscuity. It simply shows that were are all human. We make mistakes. We love. We live. As a result, we have passions of which sometimes you cannot control.
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