David and his sister Jennifer are archetypal 90s teenagers from a splintered family. Jennifer is popular at school - perhaps a little too popular - while David is considered a nerd for his viewing habits: constant re-runs of the 1950s sitcom, Pleasantville. When a 24-hour Pleasantville marathon is scheduled to begin at the same time as an MTV concert Jennifer plans to watch with her latest boyfriend, the two get into an argument, and their TV's remote control winds up broken. A mysterious TV repairman shows up with an unusual replacement for the remote - one which warps David and Jennifer into the roles of Pleasantville's two wholesome, white-bread kids, Bud and Mary Sue. With no apparent means of escaping the world of a black-and-white TV show, David (as Bud) tries to fit in as best he can...while Jennifer decides to play the role of Mary Sue in a way that will change the town forever.

I really like this movie a lot. I just have one problem - I can't decide if it's brilliant film, or a big schizophrenic mess.

The premise of Pleasantville is the stuff goofy comedies are made of - and in fact, several really bad movies have been based on a nearly identical premise. And that's what sucks the audience in - but about halfway through the movie, the tone and meaning of the story take a sharp, whiplash-inducing right turn into (sometimes heavy-handed) serious social commentary.

That in itself isn't an unwelcome twist either. The first time I saw Pleasantville and noticed that it was turning into a commentary on values, prejudice, and the inexorable march of progress, I thought I was watching a truly brilliant movie. The only problem is that the commentary shifts drastically once it starts. Is Pleasantville about America's loss of innocence? Is it about the civil rights movement? With the second half of the movie constantly changing directions and messages, I wonder just how many people were involved in the gestation of the story and the screenplay. It sometimes feels as though different writers and even a different director take over about two-thirds of the way into the proceedings. This almost schizophrenic feel is best exemplified by the character of Bud, who goes from trying to to obey a sort of prime directive to avoid interfering with Pleasantville's moral ecosystem, to being something of a literary messiah who fills in blank book pages with his mind, and finally evolving into a passive resistance leader (a la Gandhi or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) who, near the end of the movie in a courtroom scene, displays debating skills to rival Spencer Tracy in Inherit The Wind. That's quite an arc.

The special effects work involving isolating color and B&W is very impressive. It's not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, but I've never seen it carried off quite so well before.

The cast is well-picked, including William H. Macy (Mystery Men) as the square-jawed, square-minded, Father Knows Best-inspired father figure, and Jeff Daniels playing a simple (but not Dumb and Dumber simple) soda jerk with artistic aspirations. Don Knotts is perfectly cast as the mysterious TV repairman responsible for sending David and Jennifer into Pleasantville in the first place - and the role even gives the TV Land frequent flier a chance to come across creepier than he has since playing lewd Mr. Furley on Three's Company.

So...brilliant film, or big mish-mash of ideas? It's hard to say. But I did like it, so track down Pleasantville, give it a watch, and decide for yourself.

• written by Gary Ross
• directed by Gary Ross
• music by Randy Newman
• Cast: Tobey Maguire (David), Reese Witherspoon (Jennifer), William H. Macy (George), Joan Allen (Betty), Jeff Daniels (Mr. Johnson), Natalie Ramsey (Mary Jo), Kevin Connors (Bud), Heather McGill (Girl in school yard), Paul Morgan Stesler (College counselor), Denise Dowse (Health teacher), McNally Sagal (Science teacher), Jane Kaczmarek (David's mom), Giuseppe Andrews (Howard), Marissa Ribisi (Kimmy), Jenny Lewis (Christina), Justin Nimmo (Mark), Kai Lennox (Mark's lackey #1), Jason Behr (Mark's lackey #2), Don Knotts (TV Repairman), Robin Bissell (Commercial announcer), Harry Singleton (Mr. Simpson), John Ganun (Fireman #1), Paul Walker (Skip), Dawn Cody (Betty Jean), Maggie Lawson (Lisa Anne), Andrea Taylor (Peggy Jane), Lela Ivey (Miss Peters), Jim Patric (Tommy), Marc Blucas (Basketball hero), Stanton Rutledge (Coach), Jason Maves (Paper boy), Gerald Emmerick (TV weatherman), Charles C. Stevenson Jr. (Dr. Henderson), Nancy Lenehan (Marge Jenkins), Weston Blakesly (Gus), Patrick T. O'Brien (Roy), Jim Antonio (Ralph), J.T. Walsh (Big Bob), Danny Strong (Juke box boy), Kristin Rudrud (Mary), Laura Carney (Bridge club lady), Dan Gillies (Fireman #2), Marley Shelton (Margaret), Erik MacArthur (Will), Adam Carter (Boy in soda shop), David Tom (Whitey), Johnny Moran (Pete), Jeanine Jackson (Woman), J. Patrick Lawlor (Thug), James Keane (Police Chief Dan)