Across The Universe
2 ratings since posting on Saturday, October 6, 2007
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Overall Rating based on 2 ratings |
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This movie based on the lyrics of The Beatles is a wonderful spin on the songs I know and love by the group. Although there were some liberties taken with the actual meanings of songs, or musical composition, the story remains engaging and even magical at some points. A favorite part of mine would be the scene in the bowling alley to the tune of "I've Just Seen A Face." This film is a must see for anyone who likes the Beatles, or even if you just look like you might. - sticky , posted 02/08/08 |
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So, there are two critiques I am doing for this movie; a personal one on my blog, and a more “professional” one I am doing on the reviews here. Not that I can judge on any truly professional capacity, I am only an artist and can judge accordingly. I have no idea what actually went into it. Warning: There are spoilers in this review. For how I thought the movie on a more personal level, and how it touched me, read my blog (also contains spoilers). Overall…wow. Across the Universe has to be one of the most original films (if not THE original film…we have to wait another couple months to see what Hollywood will give us here come fall and winter seasons) of the year. The plot, not so much (boy meets girl, war creates conflict, yadda yadda) however, the imagery was breathtaking. Mixed into this kind of realistic world (which is the majority of the film), we get these moments of surreal metaphors through the imagery. I WOULD NOT recommend this movie to those plebeians who cannot understand the meaning behind art. One of the most powerful images in the film was when Joe Anderson, who plays Max Carrigan, brother to Lucy and friend to Jude, is drafted, and he heads this group of drafted men march carrying Lady Liberty singing “She’s So Heavy”. It was truly moving, and (for those with more than a few braincells…we had those people behind us) was an incredibly poignant scene of how these young men felt they were carrying the weight of America on their backs. One of my favorite scenes is when Jude has his meltdown and starts to leave his black and white world behind and see the world in color in “Strawberry Fields”. The music…OH GOD the music. Granted, most of the songs were taken out of the context of what they were originally written to be (however, who can say accurately what any of the songs from the 70s ACTUALLY meant…) however, the cast sang all their own songs, and let me tell you: from the voice of Jim Sturgess with his Liverpoolian accent that went straight to my groin, to the raw Janice Joplin character of Sadie played by Dana Fuchs, to the serenades that made me swoon by Martin Luther McCoy who played a Jimi Hendricks type, and even the vocal purity and strength of little Evan Rachel Wood…this movie had it all. One of my favorite songs would have to be “Because” sang in a harmonic convergence of all the above actors, plus a few more, that went places I never thought that song could go. The acting was superb. I believed in everyone, I believed in their convictions, and the writers were amazing in giving you just enough to care about the minor characters, and more than enough to relate with the major. However, on that note, of writing, I did feel there were some discrepancies. The first was I was unsure of some of the minor characters’ roles. With Prudence, I was trying to figure out what the film was trying to tell me about this girl (other than she is a lesbian and has a tendency to go after women that she can’t have and leaves when she can’t have them). I didn’t understand WHAT she brought to the group, and what Julie, Dick and Ian (the directors) were trying to tell me. Next, the music. While everything was beautifully composed, I felt that sometimes the story would stick in a song just to have a song, and some songs didn’t really add anything to the storyline. It felt, in some places, that the story revolved around the song, instead of the song revolving around the storyline. Lastly, while the imaging was wonderful, and VISUALLY the scene transitions were smooth and beautiful, I felt that the story did not have such smooth transitions. I often didn’t get a sense of time, or place, and when scenes changed, I felt that, sometimes, I was left behind in the next scene, with no explanation as to why I (as a viewer) was in the next. I felt that there were some things missing…and perhaps there were. We’ll have to see when the DVD comes out. Overall, this was the best movie I have seen in a very long time, much less the best musical I have scene in a good long while. I love that with Across the Universe and Rent and Moulin Rouge that musicals are coming to the big screen in ways you can’t see them on stage. I definitely give it an A- (which may graduate to an A+ when I watch it again, filling in the holes and questions I have.) - Wyqued, , posted 10/06/07 |
Across The Universe was recommended for:
- Tribe: Unseelie Tarts
- Tribe: First Thursday
- Tribe: *Portland Theatre*
- Tribe: Last Thursday
- Tribe: Faerieworlds
- Tribe: A Circle of Merry Folk
- Tribe: Keep Portland Weird
- Tribe: Makeup and Hair for Dancers
- Tribe: ! Buskers and circle acts