Across The Universe

While "Across the Universe" only got a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, it remains one of my all-time favorites. This 2007 film tells the story of characters Jude and Lucy, among others, in a psychedelic 1970s anti-war Greenwich Village. The most mesmerizing component of this film is the seamless incorporation of Beatles songs. The film director/writer Julie Taymor pulled a Mamma Mia, creating a storyline around preexisting music. This is a risky maneuver, and very tricky to do correctly. While the plots created in this movie reveal overdone romances that would normally make me roll my eyes, the fact that these are constructed around Beatles songs make me smile. Aspects of the movie that could be viewed as corny, such as naming all of the characters after Beatles songs, I find endearing.

This film takes the viewer on a complex journey through historical events of the 1960s. The storylines of several different characters are woven together through music. The characters are what would be expected out of a movie about the politics of the 1960s- Max, the college dropout who gets shipped off to war; Lucy, a naive girl who moves from middle America to New York; Jude, an Englishman finding himself as an artist in the city- but I can't see the film being done any other way. The plot expands between different cities and even different countries, demonstrating different mentalities found in the sixties. The story unfolds not through plot and dialogue, but through music. Nearly everything expressed in the movie is expressed through a Beatles song. While many critics think this is a cheesy and nearly artificial way of telling a story, I think it is exceptionally unique and beautiful.

One significant component of the film are the daring atypical visual effects. Channeling the psychedelic aspects of the sixties, certain parts of the film are designed to feel like an acid trip. There are underwater dance-like scenes. Jude creates art with bleeding strawberries. Soldiers are designed to look like G.I. Joes. These scenes may be a lot for a viewer to process, yet they are exceptionally powerful. Not only do they add to the film, but they demonstrate certain elements of the Beatles' music that we know were influenced by drugs.

I can certainly understand why this film is not appealing to everyone. It is fairly avant-garde and a lot of the romances and plotpoints are fairly predictable. I may be biased because the Beatles are my favorite band in the entire world, I adore Greenwich Village, and the sixties are my favorite time period- scratch that, I am undoubtably biased. It would have been really, really easy for this movie to be atrociously bad. Nothing frustrates me more than visual effects that make the film seem like it's trying too hard. Also, bad covers of Beatles songs really break my heart. The saving grace of this movie, without a doubt my favorite component, is the incredible soundtrack. I listen to it practically daily and just can't get enough. The arrangements and the vocals of the covers are astonishing. The set design and costumes are fitting for the time period. While this film may not be for everyone, I highly recommend it for Beatles fans and people interested the sixties.