| Across the Universe |
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| Written by Michael Kang | |
Across the Universedirected by Julie Taymor  The Group  Bono, sober  Sadie (Dana Fuchs) in her Rocking Glory  Jojo (Martin Luther) the underappreciated guitarist extraordinaire  Why do Sadie and Jojo share a mic? Because Jim's more important Critics have taken apart "Across the Universe" deriding it as a poor excuse for a film with its sappy love story, numerous plot holes, and the endless barrage of puns based on The Beatles songs. However one has to remember that, even though the movie features The Beatles music, the movie was not made by the band itself—it is really a creation by the very quirky director Julie Taymor (the films "Frieda," and "Titus Andronicus" plus the theatrical version of "The Lion King"). More importantly, the movie is a "musical." The film requires a certain amount of involvement by the viewer, to take things as lightly as possible. How can you explain why a spontaneous song-and-dance routine occurs? It is what it is. And so is it's narrative. Young Liverpool native Jude (Jim Sturgess)works at the docks with a wide open future. He is an illegitimate child and seeks to confront the father who had abandoned him. Jude’s journey takes him to Princeton New Jersey where he finds Max (Joe Anderson), a liberal student with a sarcastic streak and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Max’s sister. Jude and Lucy immediately become enamored with each other and the three leave Princeton to go to New York, where the bohemian scene of the '60s has just started. Once there, they experience hip parties, the occasional drug trip, driving music performances, and love–love all around. Although the story revolves around these three characters, supporting characters provide caricatures of people from that decade. Sadie (Dana Fuchs), is the landlady as well as a sexy soul singer who happens to dress and sound like Janis Joplin. Jojo, the fresh tenor played by Martin Luther, is a wandering guitarist who later adopts Hendrix-like frilly wear. Bono enters in a hallucinogenic haze as the Ken Kesey figure and Prudence (T.V. Carpio), the last and most superfluous character, is a lesbian who drifts unpredictably in and out of the movie. I don’t know exactly who she represents, perhaps the whole feminist population. So essentially you have a love story, set in the '60s—one of the most exhilarating time periods—rampant with guest appearances from dead legends, and living celebrities, set to the music of the greatest band in the world. The combination of these elements seems promising and filled with dynamic entertainment potential. However, “Across the Universe” lacks enough restraint to incorporate these elements with finesse and style. There are several engaging sequences, such as the visually stimulating drug visuals and choreography that is consistently impressive. However, these sequences are too lengthy and they compromise the rhythm and pacing of the narrative. For example—after being showcased in early scenes, the supporting characters Jojo and Sadie rarely appear in the latter half of the film. As the movie changes pace and concentrates primarily on Jude and Lucy’s relationship, it feels awkward without their presence. Jojo and Sadie were built up as an item. The audience invests itself emotionally into this established relationship, but gets detached from the movie when it fails to explain their experiences after they run into difficulty. Their absence raises questions about their significance in the first place. Since it was interesting to see their development in conjunction with the stories of the main characters, removing them took away that sense of association. Despite these complications, "Across The Universe" gives audiences a simple love story set in the roaring '60s with an attractive cast and a killer soundtrack. It’s all raw material—uncultivated and unrefined, centered on musical material that has a reputation that overwhelms the content of the film. But see it if The Beatles turn you on—that’s the reason why it deserves attention anyhow. ©Michael Kang 2007 |
