Pleasantville (1998)

	Directed by: Gary Ross	COUNTRY USA GENRE Fantasy/Comedy/Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Pleasantville RUNNING TIME 124 minutes
	Produced by: Jon Kilik Robert J. Degus Steven Soderbergh Gary Ross
	Written by: Gary Ross

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
David / Bud Parker	Tobey Maguire
Jennifer / Mary Sue Parker	Reese Witherspoon
Bill Johnson	Jeff Daniels
Betty Parker	Joan Allen
George Parker	William H. Macy	½
Bob "Big Bob"	J. T. Walsh
TV repairman	Don Knotts
Margaret Henderson	Marley Shelton	-
David and Jennifer's mother	Jane Kaczmarek	-
Skip Martin	Paul Walker

Review

Twin teenagers David (Tobey Maguire), a socially awkward nerd, and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon), a shallow and promiscuous girl, are magically transported into a 1950s sitcom by a mysterious TV repair man. As they do their best to adjust to the TV-censored morality of their new world, they also realise that their own extensive (carnal) knowledge has the power to corrupt the unpolluted minds of their fellow ‘characters’. In his directorial debut, Gary Ross (Big, Dave) is working with such an intriguing core idea that the film’s somewhat muddled postulations don’t immediately become apparent. Pleasantville looks wonderful, with its sprightly use of crisp black-and-white cinematography intermixed with vivid colour details, and in its first half, the film truly is able to transport you to a world of an up until this point unascertained fabric. As the director then leaps head-first from concept and characters into a perilous mire of ethics, you may not be equally impressed by what he is trying to pitch. The fine cast nevertheless keep you invested, not least a brilliant Joan Allen.