Pleasantville

Great movie for high schoolers and their parents.

Ingeniously conceived and impressively executed, "Pleasantville" is a provocative, complex and surprisingly anti-nostalgic parable wrapped in the beguiling guise of a commercial high-concept comedy.

An ingenious fable, screenwriter Ross's directorial debut playfully spoofs the small-minded lifestyle idealised by 'family values' advocates, and the intolerance and insecurity underlying that ideal.

The lighthearted fable Pleasantville takes some pointed swipes at the make-believe world of 1950s TV -- and none too soon.

There's a terrific idea at the heart of Pleasantville, and it's a shame that its creator, Big screenwriter Gary Ross, can't figure where to take it.

For a movie that makes such a big deal about color, Pleasantville is awfully black and white.

If the ending had been more ironic than predictable, the film might have been able to beat the similarly themed “The Truman Show” in this year’s “best of” race.

Tobey Maguire, Joan Allen and especially Jeff Daniels are all tremendous here, and Gary Ross gives it just enough of a personality to give it an edge. Don Knotts is also doing his thing here, which I appreciate.

When characters begin to refer to "coloured people" in a film with exactly zero actual people of colour in the entire work, Ross' allegory shifts from weak to active inappropriate.

It is a reminder to me that the changes I wish to see in society I must first make within myself.