John Brooks So obviously reading just the synopsis you understand the sort of film this is going to be: metaphorical, proverbial, working on two levels, that sort of thing...So the film does well jumping straight right into its plot, almost too quick perhaps but the whole first part and middle part are really well made. You're right in the thick of what the movie-makers set you up for, and you find yourself willing to play the little game to see just where exactly they're taking you. It's lots of fun, and the anticipation for answers is at a high level. The whole thing with the colors, the symbols, the 'changes'...Eventually, the last act, about the whole last third, gets increasingly disappointing as it goes. Very broadly, instead of a deeper unraveling of the concept of truth or something along those lines of philosophical nobility and wisdom and touching, we're fed a totally biased ideological realization of the plot. All of a sudden, it feels a bit like a hoax to have been sitting for two hours plus of this. It ultimately promotes chaos and going wild and doing just what you want solely because you want it at that time. Basically the whimsy responsibility-free behaviors of adults of our day. Now that can't be a good message.Some points for the intriguing, genuinely interestingly crafted first part, but it could and should've been plenty deeper in its conclusions, kept its level quality from the first to the last part, and most certainly should've had an ending at least the quality of the girth of it, rather than the girth being much better. It's wrapped up, manufactured and rushed into our faces like a mere consumable product when it's supposed to be deep and emotional and intellectual and all.6/10.

Hitchcoc I enjoyed the creativity of this film. It gives us a look at what a shallow view of the world the "Good Old Days" is. There were no good old days. They were good days for people whose lives were financially stable or who did not face prejudice or benefited from being viewed correctly by the populace. When the kids pass into Pleasantville, they come upon a TV world of 50's and 60's sitcoms where everything is vanilla (actually black and white). As the kids begin to sow their oats and the fabrics of this fantasy world begins to buckle, people who rebel or move against the status quo start to become brightly colored. When teen sex and other acts of rebellion begin to be embraced, there is more color. This is a provocative film. What I take issue with is something like a religion taking over a society to show it what is right. While those in the religious group think that what they are doing to other is correct, who are they to know? Some of the things that are taken in by the people of Pleasantville could be seen as anathema to their world and instead of an improvement, they may be destructive. However, this is not the total message because once back in the "real" contemporary world, there is still pain and sadness from the very issues that were foisted on the imaginary town.

ninabourlet Pleasantville is probably one of my favourite films. It's an American fantasy movie released in 1998 that tells the story of two teenagers living in the nineties who accidentally enter a fifties black-and- white sitcom which takes place in a town called Pleasantville. In this « utopic » place, all the people are perfect and innocent, but the arrival of the two teenagers will completely disturb the life of the inhabitants.. While changes will be generated, colours will start to appear in this black-and-white world.One first interesting point is obviously the use of colours, which will appear little by little as the residents of Pleasantville will start to have some real feelings and emotions generated by the presence of the two intruders, what will make them an essential part of the plot. Moreover the way they will be brought out throughout the story is really interesting as well : from a red rose representing love to the burning bush, they are all symbols and metaphors. Although the humour seems to be a little bit lightweight at the beginning, a lot of deeper subjects will be progressively developed. Indeed, Pleasantville is not only a comedy, it's also a drama that covers different topics and abstract ideas, such as tolerance, liberty,justice v.s. totalitarianism,.. A lot of important concepts to think about.. One last thing that I like is that it is a film that can be considered as « humanist ». In other words, a lot of human values are highlighted in it, like tolerance, kindness, compassion, generosity, education,..Art is also celebrated thanks to the contrast between a completely grey world and the progressive apparition of colours in it, which makes you aware of the importance of colours.To sum up, I think Pleasantville is a wonderful experience to watch for its nice atmosphere, its way of representing humanity, and, above all, for the pleasure of the eyes, generated by the amazing play with colours.

sharky_55 The key theme in Pleasantville is that you do not turn colour until you have truly been set free, until you have broken the shackles of your confinement and step out of your pre-defined mould (utopia as dystopia). On face value this seems a little confusing; after all Jennifer doesn't seem to do anything much than start reading and studying, somehow magically struck by the nerd gene and gaining her pigment and redemption. On a closer look, this seems to be linked to the cultural and artistic explosion that occurs in Pleasantville with their arrival - Mr Johnson's multicoloured murals, the books and their spontaneously appearing stories and illustrations, the rock-and-roll tracks that suddenly creep up onto the buttons of the jukebox. David goes through the opposite transformation. A cleverly edited sequence of faux-intimate closeups at the beginning establishes his loser, outsider status. We expect him to burst with colour as soon as he makes the changes and gets Bud to receive Margaret's cookies. But it is actually an act of bravery, in taking on the 'bullies' that harass her coloured mother that sees him undergo the same change. No doubt they are carbon copies of the brutes back in high school in the real world. Gary Ross' imagery is clear and clean cut, which is probably why this has been studied in schools. The colour is a delightful and distinct way of representing freedom and blossoming. First it starts with just a red rose after a sexual awakening - a double meaning, with the petals also flowering and blossoming. And you have all the sexual undertones that go with roses and 'pins' and cherries. The splashes of colour are applied to other concepts - a buzzing clock, to signify time (and the town) finally moving forwards after years of stasis, a burning bush for orgasmic clarity of thought (biblical reaching here to the apple and the idea of 'knowledge is power') and eventually, a historical mirroring of events that are not so long and completely gone. There is a brilliant allusion here to To Kill a Mockingbird, with the 'coloured' congregated in the upstairs level of the court. What's also wonderful is the use of humour to flip our expectations. Ross has more or less established the conventions of the Pleasantville restrictions by the time we dive into the screen, but it is nevertheless hilarious when a player missed a shot and the team stares incredulous at the defective ball like it was a ticking bomb, or when Jennifer hurries off to the bathroom and find each stall utterly empty. Mr Johnson is so helpless and trapped within routine that he has taken to rubbing the same spot at the bar over and over. But by the end of the film he sits on one end of the bench. Personal and political repression has been replaced by freedom to choose...they have no idea what their roles are or how this particular episode might end...but that is the beauty in it.