Julie Taymor’s visually stunning Across the Universe is a romantic musical told mainly through numerous classic Beatles songs performed by the characters that populate the film.
There’s Jude (newcomer Jim Sturgess, whose voice, rich in sensitivity, reminded me of that of Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge!), a young lad from Liverpool, who comes to the United States during the Vietnam War to find his father. And there’s Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), an American girl who has grown up sheltered in the suburbs, with whom he eventually winds up in New York’s Greenwich Village, where they fall in love. Together, Jude and Lucy experience the sweeping changes of America in the late 60s; he the torture that comes from being a budding artist, she to anguish and confusion that follow having lost somebody she loved to the war.
Across the Universe takes a sharp turn into surreal territory in its second act – complete with a cameo by an actress Taymor directed to an Academy Award nomination in 2003 (I refuse to tell you who it is, for I’d hate to spoil the surprise, but this actress played somebody with a famously unkempt eyebrows). It is a risky and bold choice that may loose some of the audience, but it is a delight to behold.
The film is a mesmerizing anti-war cry, which, aided by the best soundtrack it ever could have, also is a testament to love (by golly if those Beatles didn’t write perfect universal songs, by the way).
I’d like to think Across the Universe echoes the sentiments my generation feels toward the current war in Iraq.
Rather, it waxes nostalgic for a force that appears to be absent today…for a interest infinitely more invested on the battle of the words between The Hills’ LC and Heidi.
Alas, in the end all you need love, and this film has plenty of it and of inspiration. “It’s easy.”
My Rating ***
Across the Universe takes a sharp turn into surreal territory in its second act – complete with a cameo by an actress Taymor directed to an Academy Award nomination in 2003 (I refuse to tell you who it is, for I’d hate to spoil the surprise, but this actress played somebody with a famously unkempt eyebrows). It is a risky and bold choice that may loose some of the audience, but it is a delight to behold.
The film is a mesmerizing anti-war cry, which, aided by the best soundtrack it ever could have, also is a testament to love (by golly if those Beatles didn’t write perfect universal songs, by the way).
I’d like to think Across the Universe echoes the sentiments my generation feels toward the current war in Iraq.
Rather, it waxes nostalgic for a force that appears to be absent today…for a interest infinitely more invested on the battle of the words between The Hills’ LC and Heidi.
Alas, in the end all you need love, and this film has plenty of it and of inspiration. “It’s easy.”
My Rating ***
Photo: Sony Pictures.
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