Pleasantville
“Nothing is as simple as black and white” was the tagline of this film, and
that point is clearly made in the movie Pleasantville.
This was truly an original concept; a brother and sister get zapped into
their television set and arrive in the world of Pleasantville; a fictional
small town in the 1950’s where everything is just swell. The brother is in his
element, as Pleasantville is his favourite TV show. He knows all the characters
and what is going to happen in advance, and for once in his life, he is a
somebody. His sister couldn’t imagine being anywhere worse. In her world or MTV
and shopping malls, she is queen and to be thrown into a world where everyone
is innocent and naive beyond belief, gets under her skin.
Although the two try to play along with their situation and not disrupt
things too much, they can’t help but make some changes. And this is where the
striking visual design behind the film kicks in. All of a sudden, this black
and white utopia slowly starts turning into colour. The special effects behind
this are very well done, and then some themes about change, community, racism
and the loss of innocence are cleverly weaved into the story.
Pleasantville can also be attributed to helping launch the careers of its
two young stars – Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon. She had already popped
up in a few commercially successful films, but the future Spiderman was a relative
unknown. Who would have thought that just a few years later he would become the
famous web slinger?
Pleasantville is best enjoyed as a movie to watch on a lazy Sunday
afternoon or late at night as you fall asleep in bed. It moves along at a slow
and sombre pace for much of its running time, but the journey it takes you is a
beautiful one, as the world these characters inhabit gradually explodes into
colour and brings out the inner feelings and potential of everyone
involved.
I’m not sure if Pleasantville is studied in schools as part of their Media
subjects, but if it isn’t it certainly should be. There are many underlying
themes, issues and ideas explored here and it’s all done with grace and
sophistication. A very special, clever and creative film.
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