Across the Universe Reviews

Who needs a plot when you can arrange 33 songs by the Beatles in random order and have a series of talented performers do them in a bunch of loosely connected music videos revue style? This is very similar to Mamma Mia, a hastily assembled collage of memorable pop tunes lacking a memorable or even serviceable story. There’s also the triteness of Forrest Gump, our small band of youths just so happen to take part in every single major movement and moment of the turbulent 60s.

 

Across the Universe is only as good as any singular moment since there’s not a clichéd story that Taymor doesn’t use, nor is there a character that exists beyond a mere sketch. Hell, most of these characters feel like they’re named or brought in just to provide an excuse for another song. There’s our leads Jude and Lucy, Max, Sadie, Prudence, and a nearly uncountable number of groan inducing puns and references. Well, thank god for the soundtrack at the very least.

 

Like many of Taymor’s film, Across the Universe is both aggressively literal-minded and a potent example of ambition exceeding execution. The chaos of Prudence wandering through football practice while singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is a nifty idea, until you realize that it doesn’t look anything like football practice but very heavily choreographed dancing. While a bowl of strawberries is the inspiration for, ugh, do I even have to finish this sentence? You damn well know what song it is.

 

What’s shocking is how many of the sequences demonstrate Taymor modulating her artistic impulses. “It Won’t Be Long” works for the pop-rock girlishness and joy that Evan Rachel Wood invests into it. While “I’ve Just Seen a Face” primarily takes place in a bowling alley and effectively visualizes the thrill of falling in love and “Helter Skelter” uses simplistic special effects and Dana Fuchs’ throat-shredding howl to maximum effect. The best of these moments is “Let It Be,” which contrasts race riots with the Vietnam War, takes the gospel underpinnings of the track and dials them up to eleven. It’s a moment of deeply felt emotional honesty and rawness, a moment that Across the Universe could have used more of.

 

These provide a nice counter-balance to the moments where Taymor goes full-throttle visually audacious. “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” is a psychedelic collage of puppetry, vintage circus advertisements, and asymmetrical perspectives. Oh, and Eddie Izzard cameos as Mr. Kite leading a dance troupe of Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” finds Uncle Sam, G.I. Joes, and newly drafted young men carrying the Statue of Liberty across a clearly artificial Vietnam jungle in a politically loaded sequence. Then there’s “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” performed in a hospital with a multiplying Salma Hayek dressed as a sexy nurse. These moments stand out for the right reasons, and work just as effectively as short films in their own right.

 

The actors are valiant throughout, performing all of their songs with conviction and holding their own against a series of guest stars. Joe Cocker, one of the great interpreters of the Beatles, shows up in a triptych of performances during “Come Together,” it’s cute and fun to see him having fun with the classic. Bono proves a bit distracting as Dr. Robert during “I Am the Walrus,” mainly for the strange speaking voice he adopts and hammy acting. It’s a pity that Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy aren’t given enough to perform, despite being clearly brought in to act as proxies for Janis Joplin and a hybrid of Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix, they have the best musical chops out of the major players. Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, and Evan Rachel Wood are all uniformly solid, and all of them display strong singing voices. The entire cast harmonizes beautifully on “Because,” “Dear Prudence,” and “All You Need Is Love.”

 

Taymor is too idiosyncratic of an artist to leave Across the Universe totally unsuccessful as an exercise, but not enough of the material engages with the songs in any meaningful way. She clearly had a lot of ideas about how to visual them, and it is audacious in its grand ambitions. But ambition can only go so far when it’s tethered to so much silliness and excessive style. Taymor is a visionary artist, but I wonder if she knows how to pivot her considerable gifts and never-ending imagination for the more intimate style that filmmaking provides.

Since I’m not a huge fan of musicals and since I don’t really care about the Beattles, I didn’t seem to be the right audience for this flick but since I kept hearing positive things about it (for example, according to Roger Ebert, it was one of the best movies released in 2007), I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, it was not bad at all. Indeed, the songs were all right and I especially enjoyed their version of ‘I want to hold your hand’. Furthermore, the directing was really solid, with some very nice visual experiments by Julie Taymor. The cast was also pretty good, above all Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood who had some very good chemistry together. It was also pretty neat to see Joe Cocker and Bono coming along to sing a song. Still, I can’t say that the whole thing was mind-blowing though. Indeed, personally, I thought that the story was rather pedestrian and really unoriginal and I really didn’t care much about it (something I always dread in most of the musicals I see). Furthermore, I found it was a rather odd choice to set the action in the USA in the 60’s. I mean, the 60’s was an obvious choice but why in the USA? Still, it remains a decent flick though. To conclude, if you are a fan of the Beattles, you will probably have a blast watching this but even if you are not, it remains a very well made musical and I still think it is worth a look.

É, é. O fato de ser um musical com a trilha sonora de The Beatles foi um dos fatores que me convenceram a ver o filme. E tem aquela parte sobre se passar nos anos '60. E ainda tem aquela OUTRA questão de ter um protagonista inglês. Eu amo ingleses.
Eu achei muito legal da parte do filme nomear os atores com nomes das músicas da banda, como Jude, Lucy, Prudence... Sem falar no fato de os próprios atores "soltarem" a voz, diferente de outros filmes em que preferiram colocar as músicas originais. Eu acredito, sim, que funcionou. A versão deles de "I wanna hold your hand" é ótima. Incrível ver as músicas se encaixando com as cenas.
Apesar da trilha sonora de peso, o filme tem um história de amor simples, entre Jude e Lucy, em meio a época da guerra do Vietnã. Mas vale muito a pena assistir.

God, I love Julie Taymor and it took me three seperate attempts to actually get through the film. It's torpedoed by the fact that

a) None of the characters are likeable

b) None of the characters are likeable because they're constantly singing their feelings

c) They're constantly singing their feelings and after a while the CONSTANT musical numbers actually wear you down.

d) They're constantly singing their feelings with bland, broadway, voices. Considering the actual music it's kind of sad to see such soulless performances.

e) It's crushingly literal at times.

f) Bono. God, just...Bono.

I LOVE musicals, but I just wanted at least a little respite between the musical numbers. Just a little breathing space, but I swear there are moments where musical numbers segue into musical numbers which segue into musical numbers. What it does it dilute EVERY song because you've no time to really appreciate what's going on. There are a bunch of fun numbers in this film, with some great staging, but the sheer weight of production sort of numbs your mind to them.

Over the course of two hours we get 34 seperate musical numbers.

It's a shame because when you're engaged the numbers are shot and choreographed with the style that Taymor's famous for. In particular I think the staging of 'Come Together' and 'It Won't Be Long' are great, they'd probably be standout numbers in ANY other film.

Jude leaves his home country of England for America in search of his biological father, what he finds instead is a romance and a group of friends that will forever change his life. After he meets Max he is invited over for thanksgiving and meets his younger sister Lucy who he takes an instant liking too. The pair hit if off rather well, but Max and Jude move to New York. Jude and Lucy reconnect when she decides it is in her best interest to move to New York. Lucy begins to become involved in peace rallies after Max is drafted for the war. As the peace rallies heat up Jude and Lucy begin to drift apart and after an altercation with law Jude is forced back to his home country. Jude eventually tries to get back into America so that he can reconnect with Lucy and make things right.

Across the Universe is rich and beautiful in its own right just for the soundtrack, but it happens to go a lot deeper then that. Lucy and Jude are two young people looking to live and love and to just find peace. The world around them is focused in on war and destruction and they just want to find a peaceful safe haven where war is not an option. This becomes difficult after Max becomes a part of the war. Lucy’s resentment towards the war escalates as she begins to become a part of violent protests which result in police action.

This film tells this story in such a unique way you cannot help but love it. The music of the Beatles is so rich with color and imagery, the words have been sung now for almost 50 years and everyone from anywhere has heard the Beatles and possibly been touched by their lyrics. Across the Universe is a simple tale of love and peace that uses some of the greatest words ever written on paper to help tell its story. As the story unfolds and the main characters belt out famous Beatles songs you can strangely realize how music can define a generation and change the way we look at things. You can also strangely envision the tales told through songs and what it all means and how the interpretation of the lyrics comes down to how the song and its words make each individual feel.

Jude and Lucy were complete opposite, Jude coming from a tough background having to work for everything he got, Lucy was a bit naïve in that sense, coming from a rich uptight American family not having to worry about how they would survive. Lucy sort of finds herself struck by reality when her boyfriend dies in the war and then her brother gets drafted. Jude and Lucy just really want to be these free spirits and this is beautifully captured through the dream like sequences that play out while they sing masterfully to the words of the Beatles. As they listen to their music and Jude creates his art you can feel how they want to be disconnected from what it means to be normal. Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess play these characters and convey their youthful innocence so well, they capture what it means to fall in love and have life get in the way. They bring new life to classic songs and their vocals are just stunning. You cannot ask for much more from a young vibrant cast. They gave it their all both mentally and physically and left everything out in the open for the audiences to enjoy.

Across the Universe is a film I put off watching on many occasions, the reason being I have no idea. I love the lyrics of the Beatles and have a lot of respect for the Beatles and what the accomplished in a short amount of time. It was great to see their songs used to tell a great story. Across the universe is a stellar film, do not pass up the chance to see it.

Freakin amazing i was glued to the screen the whole time and not because of evan rachel wood, but the movie was just outstanding, its not even on a scale of 1-10 its just to awesome to give a number, watch this movie, even if u dont like the beatles u will love it

"Music's the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons away."

Director Julie Taymor's trippy, psychedelic, lush tribute to the music of The Beatles can be suitably branded as ambitious and audacious. Across the Universe seeks to tell a fictional love story set amid the tumultuous years of the 1960s, and utilises countless Beatles songs in its storytelling - naming characters, planting allusions, and drawing plot inspiration from the Fab Four's musical oeuvre. All told, almost three dozen Beatles songs feature on the soundtrack. Taymor was responsible for the Broadway retelling of The Lion King, thus the songs employed therein are largely reconceptualised to suit the medium of film. Visually, Across the Universe is a marvel - it's exquisite, clever, creative and enthralling. It additionally contains traces of romance and war, accompanied by issues of the 1960s (i.e. the Vietnam War, drugs, protests, and so on). But Across the Universe fails to include two constituents utterly crucial for a motion picture: a solid story and narrative focus. It's a prolonged, asinine dream - and it doesn't make a lick of sense!

All the protagonists are named after Beatles songs while also alluding to Sixties' icons. There's Jude (Sturgess) from Hey Jude, Lucy (Wood) from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Max (Anderson) from Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Prudence (Carpio) from Dear Prudence, JoJo (Luther) from Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, and Sadie (Fuchs) from Sexy Sadie. Logically, much of these character names exist to allow a musical set-piece to be performed about them.
As Sadie belts out Helter Skelter and Don't Let Me Down, she unmistakably resembles Janis Joplin. Likewise, with JoJo's soulful electric guitar playing during While My Guitar Gently Weeps, he's an obvious allusion to Jimi Hendrix. Screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais continue to add additional layers of 60's references and imagery. Eventually, Across the Universe itself begins to undertake the pop-culture vitality of an Andy Warhol feature or Roy Lichtenstein painting.
In a nutshell: the film's plot follows Jude who travels to America in search of his real father. After a rather anticlimactic meeting, Jude meets soon-to-be college dropout Max. Together, Max and Jude head to New York. Jude begins to fall in love with Max's sister Lucy, and Max finds himself drafted in the army. As Max fights a battle in Vietnam, Jude and Lucy fight their own battle as anti-war protests are conducted.

Across the Universe appears to owe a hefty debt to Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! in addition to Beatles films like Help!, A Hard Day's Night, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine and Let It Be. Director Taymor brought music producer and composer Elliot Goldenthal onto the project. Goldenthal decided not to remain faithful to the original songs, but instead to reinterpret them for the new generation (a generation which wasn't alive during the 60s). These reinterpretations frequently add another dimension and a new underlying meaning. I Want to Hold Your Hand, for instance, is sung by a young female high school student as she watches a cheerleader she has a secret same-sex crush on. Due to these changes, this song becomes a sensuous confessional rather than conveying the peppy teen angst of the original version. A lot of the songs were apparently sung live (not lip-synched), and they therefore seem far more natural. On the other hand - to paraphrase The Wanderers -"Don't fuck with the songs". It may be a laudably ambitious concept, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea.

The recreation of classic Beatles tunes is sometimes great. Joe Cocker singing Come Together, Eddie Izzard singing For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, and Bono singing I Am the Walrus are absolutely wonderful sequences. Yet, in all honesty, what is the point? Across the Universe is a succession of flashy, spectacular music videos connected by pulp. It seems the screenwriters decided which songs to use before conceiving a rubbish plot to join them. More than half the songs do nothing to advance the plot. The lyrics appear to have no meaning. What was the point of Jude singing Revolution, really? Scenes like these reek of self-indulgence. The filmmakers decidedly opted to include as many legendary Beatles songs as possible, plot be damned. The fusion of a few realistic concepts (like the Vietnam War and the rallies against it) with highly fantastical musical set-pieces is jarring, to say the least. At times the characters are also ensnared in unfortunate situations. How are these overcome? Some singing and colourful imagery. The worst offender is when abandoned by a bus. Max explains he might not be able to attend his appointment with Uncle Sam. After some singing, life is normal again and they're all home.

The characters are two-dimensional and clichéd. Zero character development transpires. It's gruelling to connect with the characters on a truly human level. Emotional investment is virtually impossible, giving a viewer no reason to care about a trouble to be overcome by the characters. The actors do place forth charismatic performances, though. Jim Sturgess is particularly watchable, although his singing voice is underwhelming. As with all the actors, Sturgess does his best with the flawed material. In supporting roles, there's a solid selection: Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, T.V. Carpio, Martin Luther and Dana Fuchs. Bono (who sang a few cover versions of Beatles songs, most notably Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds heard during the end credits) steals the show in his stylish I Am the Walrus musical sequence, Eddie Izzard is spectacular in the overlong musical set-piece of For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, and Joe Cocker deserves kudos for his singing of Come Together.

"The home of Dr. Geary, another outlaw, like myself. We're navigators, we're aviators, we're eating taters, masturbating alligators. Bombadiers, we got no fears, won't shed no tears. We're pushing the frontiers of transcendental perception. What's weird is we haven't met yet, on this or any other plane."

Perhaps Across the Universe is better regarded as an experience rather than a movie. The story itself is incidental; a threadbare excuse for Taymor to string together reconceptualised covers of her favourite Beatles songs. It's inhabited by a handful of insipid characters that are genuinely superfluous in the grand scheme of things. These irrelevant characters are given their own musical set-pieces just because Taymor et al were unable to find a way to tie all the greatest Beatles songs into Jude and Lucy's tumultuous romance. Across the Universe is a definitive case of style overstepping substance. However, the film is overflowing with imagination and bolstered by a dazzling visual style. When a film is this stylish, it's certainly difficult to brand it a total failure. It's a visually arresting film, but its stimulating use of bright colours and imagery is the only positive to unearth. After enduring 130 minutes of a single-noted string of music videos, though, it grows fairly tedious.

Across the Universe is a beautiful misfire - beautiful, yes, but still a disappointing misfire. While it's a daring experiment - unique, aesthetically alluring and distinctive - the script is unsatisfactory no matter where you turn. It tells a hopelessly clichéd love story, the narrative is unfocused and the characters are trite. Perhaps Across the Universe is simply an acquired taste. Perhaps it should just be looked upon as a succession of enthralling music videos. Perhaps it should be perceived as merely a valentine to the artistic and idealistic spirit of the 60s as symbolised by the music of The Beatles. Draw your own conclusions, as films like these are gruelling to critically analyse and opinions will be radically diverse.

"All you need is love,
All you need is love!
Love is all you need!"

6.2/10

This psychedelic film is very entertaining. Thanks for the good-looking actors who star in it, except for that Prudence girl who has a face that's full of banters. Haha. Beatles songs were everywhere. Really everywhere that sometimes you don't expect that someone would be singing but still they do suddenly - that was almost lame. I love the Strawberry Fields part, though. I wish it was more psychedelic though. That '70s Show gave me more of that era's feel. :)

''We're navigators, we're aviators, eatin' taters, masturbatin' alligators, bombardiers, we got no fears, won't shed no tears, we're pushin' the frontiers of transcendental perception.''

The music of the Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.

Evan Rachel Wood: Lucy

Jim Sturgess: Jude

''All you need is love,
All you need is love!
Love is all you need!''

The musical surreal wonder that is Across the Universe is truly a vision to behold. I don't think I've seen anything this artistic, visual, and musically vibrant in a long time. The Beatles songs used to knit the Movie together really give Across the Universe an edge and power that retains it's glow long after it finishes.
There's some jaw dropping sequences ranging from an underwater love scene of sorts, a stab at the army in another, and a bizarre Circus ordeal.



The imagery really does the film justice and the imagination at work here is limitless inspiration. This is a visionary piece of work which I've noticed has recieved mixed opinions on. People that didn't like it say it's musical film is hard to grasp or it's jumbled up, if the term boring old fart summarizes these people then I give it with all due respect. Across the Universe is not just a resolute tale of love but one of ideals, Wartime and its effects, friendships, sexuality, and the wonders of youth.

''Music's the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons away.''

Performances really are a mixture of singing and acting, a mixture of talent and choreographed dancing and synchronized harmonic groups of extras.
Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood are simply amazing as the young lovers who become separated by the threads of fate.
Joe Anderson as Max Carrigan also does an amazing job at providing a detailed friend of Judes and a guy who has to go off to war in Vietnam.
Two really awesome people provide two of the weirdest yet funky characters within Across the Universe. The two in the light are Bono as Dr Robert & Eddie Izzard as Mr Kite. Their respective parts and scenes are surreal as well as deep coursing with subliminal messages and visual treats.

I could go on and on with characters, but will quickly mention a few others who were memorable and effective. T.V Carpio as Prudence was fascinating, as was Dana Fuchs as the singer Sadie. All the characters, not just the main two are studied and their equations, aspects and views on love are explored.

''I would lay in front of a tank if it would bring Max back and end this war.''

''Yeah, it wouldn't.''

So great music, a historical impact, and an alternative musical which results in an artistic concoction not just musically but visually.
Poor boy meets rich girl, it's an old story which never gets boring or less fascinating the more times it's done and Across the Universe even does it in a unique new way of its own.

Director Julie Taymor succeeds in making a hit from my vantage point. Also showing me that a few more female Directors may actually result in some better films being made, due to a level of detail and a different view that comes across resulting in a glorified masterpiece of sorts thats like watching a flower bloom in the first rays of dawn.

In conclusion, Across the Universe manages to capture the feel of the 1960s, succeeds in telling a love story, achieves a different mode of story telling that really should be tried and emulated more often. An artistic musical vision that I definitely will watch over and over, and a sure thing is I can be inspired by from the very word go.

''All you need is love.''

What I did know: it is a musical.
What I did not know: it is based on Beatles songs/music.

Typical love story. Nothing new here.

What saves me from giving a 1 or 2/10 rating is the singing. The performers are talented - luckily - and it somewhat makes the film bearable.
The cinematography, the directing, the costumes, the settings... Nothing is memorable.