Watching "Pleasantville"

[ForrestGump]

I love that film. Been a while since I last saw it.

It's technically a very interesting film, and well acted, but the story's just irresistible to me. There's an awful lot of commentary in there regarding prejudice of all kinds, conformity and the stifling of imagination and creativity, and individuality and the expression thereof. And love. And beauty. I think it's a perfect little film. Perfect on multiple levels. I think, too, that somewhere in there is a nice, metaphorical distillation of what it means to be a true 'liberal.'



Just saw the "At Last" scene with the monochromatic boy and girl driving through the pink-blossomed cherry trees...that part really gets to me, too, on a visceral level.



"Where's my dinner?"

[Aristus]

1. I love the film. No question about it.

The only time the symbolism got a little heavy-handed was when the girl plucked the apple from the tree. I wanted to say: 'All right! We get it already!"

Did I mention, I adore the film? :-)

[ForrestGump]

4. "I don't WANT it to go away"

Yeah. It's brilliant. :hi:

[Floogeldy]

2. Right

And this thread has absolutely nothing to do with Reese Witherspoon's tits.

B-)

[ForrestGump]

5. Not 'til you mentioned it

:P

Though those '50s bras looked kinda dangerous... :scared:

Then there's Joan Allen's bathtub adventure. :D

[SeattleGirl]

3. "Pleasantville" is a great movie.

I love the "At Last" scene also. And some of the humor in it, like no toilets in the bathrooms, cracks me up.

I've seen it probably 5-6 times, and still love it.

[ForrestGump]

6. Yeah, the bits that emphasize the gulf between reality and '50s family

sitcoms are great, right from that first scene at the overladen breakfast table. I always thought William H. Macy's homecoming to an empty house, and the ensuing bowling alley scene, were hilarious in their irony.

And the late JT Walsh, as always, is great as the town's Big Man, the nearest we get to an autocrat before Pleasantville starts to get unpleasant and the "no coloreds" attitude proliferates and escalates (loved it when our hero decked Whitey, too, in defence of his screen mother). Jeff Daniels, too, as JT Walsh's polar opposite -- a great, understated and sensitive performance. Joan Allen was incredible, and William H. Macy was born for that role.

Last time I watched it, on my DVD, I watched it again with commentary track on, and I am pretty sure that the commentary directly skewers the Bush maladministration. Interesting how they made the film, too -- more complicated than it looks.

[Broken_Hero]

7. Very good movie...:) nt

[Kerrytravelers]

8. Gary Ross (writer, director) spoke at one of my MA writing classes.

He is so damn smart and very impressive.

And a liberal! http://fundrace.org/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Ross&fname=Gary&search=Search+by+Name But, all the directors and professors in my program are VERY liberal. I was in very comfortable surroundings!

http://imdb.com/name/nm0002657/

[smtpgirl]

9. Cool movie

loved Toby McGuire & Reese Witherspoon, will become a classic, like the Christmas Story

[Vidar]

10. Wonderful film.

[NMMNG]

11. I love that movie

And the group of townspeople who are virulently opposed to change, even to the point of implementing laws against it and engaging in violence towards those who defy them, are a fitting model of today's Rethugs/Fundies.