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Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin in Beyond The Sea . Rated M – Low Level Offensive Language

Beyond The Sea is the story of Bobby Darin, pop singer, lounge singer, actor and later, folk singer. It’s a musical fantasy with plenty of dream sequences and follow-spots where Darin talks to himself as a child, goes from rags to riches and awakens to find his social conscience.

Darin always suffered from the perception of being a manufactured pop star, largely due to hits like “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover”. His goal was not to be a teen idol, but a mainstream entertainer with a broad audience. Spacey gets that message across pretty fast, portraying Darin as a go-getter who firmly believed that his impoverished upbringing and poor health merely meant that he was destined for great things.

The supporting cast includes John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Greta Scacchi — and Kate Bosworth plays Darin’s wife, teen idol and star of Gidget , Sandra Dee.

As a serious biography, the film is let down by the constant intrusion of song and dance sequences. Yes, Darin was a song and dance man, but these fantasy sequences take place offstage — and just when we’re learning something interesting or tragic about the man’s real life.

However, the film does come with a disclaimer, saying that it is a fictional piece, loosely based upon the life of Bobby Darin. And Spacey’s performance is fantastic, his singing voice more than able to reconstruct Darin’s impeccable delivery of songs like “Mack The Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”.

The period sets are great, the costumes perfect and detailed. Overall we are left with an indelible impression of Bobby Darin — although from now on he’s always going to look like Kevin Spacey.

You can view the trailer here. Spare Room also has a review of Bobby Darin’s album Live At The Desert Inn here.