Flawed, yet much more intelligent than the majority of films released Stateside during 1998, the directorial debut of screenwriter Gary Ross (Big, Dave) could have been pitched as Back To The Future meets The Truman Show. Or The Wizard Of Oz meets The Twilight Zone. Pleasantville's main strength lies in its concept - - although the idea of people being zapped into a TV show was explored in 1992 comedy Stay Tuned. Undaunted, Ross has lifted elements from various cinematic sources, binding them together into a postmodern fairytale that tackles, albeit clumsily, a wide variety of themes and ideas.
Read the full Pleasantville review
Comments