David and Jennifer are living in the age of negativity. The environment is going to hell, unemployment is going to rise, life just sucks in general. This doesn’t bother Jennifer, but David wishes his life was more like his favorite 50’s TV show, Pleasantville. He’s seen every episode to the point of memorization; so when a mysterious TV repairman gives him a remote that transports him and his sister, Jennifer, into the show; he’s thrilled, but she is not. David (now Bud) tries to get Jennifer (now Mary Sue) to play the role she’s been given in the show, and follow the plot, but she decides to change things up.
Now, her modern influence starts changing the way Pleasantville citizens think, as well as changing the landscape from black and white to technicolor. The most important part of this movie is the eponymous setting. “No one is homeless in Pleasantville. It’s just not what it’s like. ” Pleasantville is perfect. Well, not perfect, it’s “swell”. The temperature is always sunny and cool, the residents are content; hell, the school basketball team doesn’t even miss a single basket.
But no one has ever heard of the concept of sex, no one knows how to stop a house fire (’cause there has never been one) all the books are blank, and art is basically nonexistent. The movie is also about the characters that inhabit this strange setting; all the characters in Pleasantville have a purpose. They are literally created just to fulfill that one role in their universe/show. And then David and Jennifer come in, from a generation that seems to have lost its purpose, and they accidentally start a chain reaction. They introduce the citizens to foreign concepts; they tell them that they don’t have to follow the script.
They have minds of their own, and they can follow their own hearts. These characters start to see themselves as more than just their assigned purpose; they grow and evolve, and turn into real people. They start to act and talk and even look more like real people. And their actions not only influence themselves, but their physical environment and fellow citizens. And I love how the movie takes advantage of every allegory they can, without it feeling too hamfisted. This movie is just one metaphor after another and I could talk about them all day.
The change from black and white to color means so many things: It’s the second wave of feminism, the sexual revolution, it represents the path knowledge and enlightenment, it represents a racial divide and the Civil Rights Movement, it represents LGBT youth vs. their prejudiced parents, it represents freedom vs. oppression, and the generation gap, traditionalism vs. progress. It’s a realistic, complicated, difficult reality, versus a gilded, overly simplistic fantasy. Really, this movie can represent any kind of grand cultural or social change, and any kind of conflict between different kinds of people.
And I would love to talk more about it, but then this review would be too long. Moving on… The characters are decent, they can be a bit simplistic, but they still speak to me, and once color starts creeping in, they all feel real enough. I really love Mr Johnson and Betty; they might just be my favorite characters, as well as Jennifer/Mary Sue once she gets some character development. The visual and the editing that was done to have these half B&W, half color scenes are great. It’s more of a personal taste thing, but I really adore the visual contrast that allows.
And the fact that the color/B&W contrast was relevant to plot rather than just being a stylistic choice like Sin City or Schindler’s List (okay it’s more than stylistic in that, but the movie could have existed without it) give this movie extra points. The movie doesn’t really explain how this all works; how can David and Jennifer could be transported into a TV show? and considering that their changes means that there’s more to the town and now there’s an entire new world, does that mean they just created an alternate universe? And since that alternate universe WAS stuck in the permanent 50’s but now isn’t, would it progress like ours?
I watched this movie enough times that I couldn’t help but overthink. But in the movie it just gets glossed over, and in the grand scheme of things, the how doesn’t matter; all that matters is that it happened. The movie can be a bit simplistic, but it kind of works. I remember not liking V for Vendetta for having such a clean, simplistic view of a political revolution, so shouldn’t I have a problem with Pleasantville’s simplistic social revolution? Not really. This movie isn’t trying to go for realism or trying to tackle its themes and allegories seriously.
Yes, it can get serious, and some scenes feel too real for comfort (‘No Colored Allowed signs and sexual harassment come to mind) but all in all, this movie is just a nice and simple feel-good movie. It’s a sweet fantasy, and it’s not marketing itself as anything but. We’re in TVLand, where problems are solved in half an hour and everyone is nice and swell. It gives us one outdated ideal of life, and it shows us the conflict that arises as we try to change and evolve and form a new ideal of life. I enjoyed this movie so much, l’ve watched it at least 4-5 times, and recommended it to multiple people.
It’s not a great movie, quality wise. Good editing and interesting visuals, but it lacks any depth, and the characters and plot are a little too simple to be considered anything more than good; but it’s still a fun movie. It’s really enjoyable. It’s a smart enough satire to have these allegories and let you think about them for yourself, but it’s also a dumb and entertaining typical Hollywood movie that you can easily forgive for any plot holes or mistakes. I’d recommend this to all audiences, and while it isn’t a must see, and it won’t be anyone’s favorite, it’s still a great watch that MANY will enjoy.
