Pleasantville (1998)

It’s difficult to describe “Pleasantville”, as I’ve never seen a film quite like it. It’s an entertaining comedy with contemporary humour that manages to tell a powerful, introspective tale of the perceived loss of innocence in the modern world. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but “Pleasantville” is definitely worth seeking out.

This is hardly worth mentioning as it’s such an obvious statement, but the visuals in “Pleasantville” are absolutely breath-taking. The cinematography is beautiful, every frame is positioned perfectly and the lighting brilliantly highlights the mood of each scene. The narrative houses a lot of trippy ideas and is relayed mostly through visuals, but I was never confused or lost during the run time. The contrast between the drab real world, the black and white sitcom and the highly saturated look of the colours that seep into the sitcom are truly astonishing to watch.

It’s unbelievable that this film didn’t take home a single Oscar and wasn’t even nominated for best cinematography! It lost Best Art Direction-Set Decoration to “Shakespeare in Love” (which I’ll admit I haven’t seen but I’ve heard it’s extremely overrated.) It seems insane that a film featuring visual storytelling this ingenious didn’t win more awards.

The cast in “Pleasantville” all did a splendid job, they’re able to effortlessly capture the core essence of their respective characters, making it easy to invest in each characters journey. Reese Witherspoon and Tobey “Pizza Time” Maguire are both exceptional as the two leads, Joan Allen is compelling and William H. Macy is great. It was a nice surprise to see Maggie Lawson in a minor role here, she played one of the main characters in “Psych” (which is one of my favourite TV shows) and mainly does TV work, so it was interesting to see one of her earlier performances.

I was surprised by how many complex underlying themes were housed within “Pleasantville.” I went in expecting a light, if a little arty, comedy that briefly touched upon a few intriguing subjects. However, “Pleasantville” is an incredibly thought-provoking watch, it delves into ideas such as censorship, art, growing up, racial prejudice and gang violence, all whilst keeping the narrative focused and the tone balanced. The film’s detractors could argue that it’s difficult to discern what the main theme of “Pleasantville” is, as it covers such a broad range of different topics. But personally, I was pleasantly surprised by how profound the film was.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed “Pleasantville.” It’s an engaging comedy drama that brings a multitude of absorbing concepts to the screen, featuring fantastic performances and some of the most imaginative cinematography that you’ll find in a comedy. But above all, the moments in “Pleasantville” that are the most compelling are those when the film slows down, focusing on the improvements and flaws in modern society. I highly recommend it!