Across the Universe Movie Review
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: A FUN MIND TRIP
Julie Taymor is known for her creative vision with films like Frida and the Broadway hit The Lion King. With Across the Universe, she brings a fresh look to a story set in the sixties. The music of the Beatles guides the film along with powerful visuals.
Jude (Jim Sturgess) lives in Liverpool, England and is going to America. He arrives at Princeton University, expecting to meet his father the professor. Instead he meets his father the janitor. He also encounters rebel Max (Joe Anderson), a student who comes from a well to do family. When Max decides to drop out of school and go to New York City, Jude goes along for the ride. Max’s sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) joins them once a loved one dies in Vietnam. They experience the Bohemian lifestyle that New York City has to offer during the 60s, along with protesting the war and trying to dodge the draft.
This is a story that has been done before. A couple falls in love with the backdrop of historical events such as Vietnam and the Watts riots. But Beatles songs sang by the cast elevate the storyline to a new level. Each song makes each event more meaningful. Without the music the film would be nothing. Apart from Evan Rachel Wood, the cast is made up of relative unknowns. Wood has made a name for herself with various types of roles (Thirteen, Down in the Valley). She inhabits each new character as if she is playing herself, it is done so naturally. The rest of the cast does justice to classic Beatles songs. Eddie Izzard shines as a ringmaster of a psychedelic circus. Come for the soundtrack and stay for the show that is put on with the eye popping colors, mind bending illustrations. You don’t know where fantasy starts and reality begins, with choreographed dance numbers and outrageous masks and costumes.
The plot is ordinary and would not have held up on its own if not for the music of the 60s. Adding unexpected elements as opposed to the predictability of a couple being torn apart would have made it more distinguishable.
Julie Taymor lives up to her reputation with Across the Universe. It is an excellent showcase of the Beatles and yet again shows why there were and still are so popular. The ensemble cast are all talented singers who give a new twist to the old favorites. It is a fun ride through the 60s.
Report Card:
Story-C
Acting-B
Visuals-B+
Originality/Innovation-B+
Enjoyability Grade–B+
Overall Grade-B
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