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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!
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.
''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.
8/10
