KEVIN Spacey hits a professional high note as lounge singer Bobby Darin in this glitzy, yet ultimately disappointing, biopic.

Beyond the Sea charts the movie and musical career of Darin, from his humble roots as a sickly child brought up in the Bronx through to fame and fortune in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

It employs a film-within-a-film mechanism with Darin overseeing a movie of his own life, which offers a refreshing twist on the traditional biopic format.

Darin is portrayed as a fiercely ambitious young man and despite battling with his health, wins scores of fans with hits such as Mack the Knife and Dream Lover.

He also bags an Oscar nomination and a beautiful actress wife in the form of Sandra Dee, competently played by the pretty Kate Bosworth.

Spacey demonstrates that not only is he a fine actor but he can also hold a tune too, although I was left feeling his portrayal of Darin lacked real depth. I wonder whether Spacey's personal adoration of Darin somehow clouded his presentation of him, resulting in a one-dimensional character leaving me unable to form an opinion of the protagonist.

EB