A psychedelic 60s musical trip, integrating Beatles songs into a hippy love story.

CRITIQUE

Across the Universe is nothing more than a feature length music video (apparently what passes for a movie musical these days) but it's so giddy and good-natured that its faults are easy to forgive, especially for Baby Boomers who survived the 60s; and Beatles fans in particular.

The whisker-thin plot revolves around a Liverpool lad named Jude (Jim Sturgess) yearning to experience the great big world beyond his working class roots/fate. A basic boy-meets-girl-loses-girl-regains-girl story unfurls when he arrives in NYC circa 1967 where he meets his dream babe (Evan Rachel Wood, as Lucy) amidst the backdrop of a campus protest movement.

Greenwich Village acts as a hotbed of counterculture activity where most of the supporting cast live, work and love — turning on, tuning in and dropping out to Timothy Leary's nonconformist battle cry. With a little help, Lucy's brother Max (Joe Anderson) becomes fast friends with Jude, but their politically revolutionary ambitions are broken when Max is shipped off to 'Nam. Jude becomes jealous of Lucy’s involvement with the reactionary Left (and its charismatic leader; i.e. rival) so they split up.

That’s pretty much the whole “A” storyline. Supporting characters fare much more for the worse. Behind-the-scenes reports of notorious studio interference with director Julie (Frida/Titus) Taymor’s original cut become blatantly obvious when two of the “B” stories suddenly unravel and seemingly pop back into existence at the climax — magically resolved. (Blame it on bad dope!)

Speaking of drugs, Universe manages to simultaneously embrace the casual 60s drug culture but also avoid depicting it! Taymor's visuals careen into highly creative and satisfying psychedelic musical numbers yet the most screen time characters actually spend doing drugs are taking a few tokes of pot. LSD, heroin and sundry other mood-altering substances are sidestepped as if the studio were running a "just say no!' campaign.

Viewers who understand the 60s will have a better appreciation for the film’s direction, ambiance and characters. Undeveloped as they are, the characters still manage to represent both the times and specific persons from the Beatles catalog. "Prudence," (who does indeed enter through the bathroom window!) is an example of Taymor's capriciously simpleminded humor, but "Sadie" and "Jo Jo" practically mirror a [fictional] interracial coupling between Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix; resembling the real musicians both physically and musically. Sadly, these are the characters whose short-shrifted appearances ended up mostly on the cutting room floor. Though their appearances are “supporting,” Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther (as Sadie/Jo Jo) anchor the film’s most soulful connections.

Thirty-three Beatles tunes are used to illustrate the story, often with surprising results. "I Want You/She's So Heavy," (practically an unfinished Lennon/McCartney song-sketch) receives an absolutely stunning treatment during a military draft number for apprehensive Vietnam-bound inductees. Part one sees wartime poster-boy Uncle Sam leaping off the page as an animated icon, tossing his victims into a lineup of life-size G.I. Joe dolls who proceed to drill the fresh collegiate victims.

Part two has the soldiers stomping through a Vietnamese jungle like Kong-sized combatants while carrying the Statue of Liberty on their shoulders. (Yeah, liberty is a heavy scene all right!) The aforementioned sequence is, believe it or not, the least literal of Taymor's devices. Sometimes they're so painfully on-the-nose that only the sincerity of the cast keeps them from dipping into the shamelessly puerile territory of Ken Russell's Tommy.

To her credit, Universe occasionally reveals moments of relatively subtle touches, such as Jude’s transformation from coal-shoveling dock worker to charcoal-sketching artist (who creates the band’s “Strawberry Jam” icon—a parallel to The Beatles’ “Apple” label.)

It should be noted that all the Beatles songs are not originals but rather reinterpretations. Most of the arrangements (by Elliot Goldenthal) manage to secure the music honestly, but a few of the slower, "sadder" songs flounder because the melodies are left to a capella voices punctuated by a few background strings. (When they're feeling alone, the music is "lonely," too. We get it, Julie.) While the cast sports decent-to-beautiful voices, this sort of bare bones stylization is used much more than necessary.

Universe is rife with star cameos. Some work quite well, integrated in spots which clearly benefit from their presence — such as Eddie Izzard as the flamboyant Mr. Kite. Bono (as Dr. Robert, a Ken Kesey imitation) comes off more like a "I know the director, so give me a part!" type of stunt casting. Best of all is the inimitable Joe Cocker's gravel-pit cover version of "Come Together," while essaying not one but three different background characters! (In one of her few instances of restraint, Taymor avoids Cocker performing an obvious reprise of his classic Woodstock performance of "A Little Help From My Friends.")

As an intentional plan, naturalistic spoken dialogue exists only when absolutely necessary. The screenwriter/director’s central conceit is to allow timeless Beatles songs to propel the storyline and reveal characters' emotions. (Imagine the musical/movie Hair cross-pollinated with Pink Floyd's The Wall and Moulin Rouge... you'll get the general idea of Taymor’s intent.)

Whether or not she succeeds is a purely subjective affair. Only a multi-million dollar budget and a strong whiff of flower power stands between Universe and an ambitious student film. Across the Universe is a heartfelt, clunky, and wholly endearing mess. Peace!

THE VIDEO

Across the Universe is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. A mite smeary in the red-hued Strawberry Fields sequence, but otherwise a near-perfect film-to-DVD translation. This is eye candy for big-screen owners.

THE AUDIO

Across the Universe is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. It takes full advantage of contemporary mixing and noise reduction techniques, with particularly effective song-dubbing. Whether or not the cast is actually singing cannot be distinguished by impeccable on-screen sync. Optional subtitles are available for the following languages: Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary with Director Julie Taymor and Composer Elliot Goldenthal: For those who enjoy this kind of material it serves its purpose. More often than not it just serves to stroke the egos of the filmmakers.

Extended Musical Performances: Interesting, but rather than seeing snippets, this writer would have preferred to see the true director’s cut. (Taymor is a bit sensitive on the subject.)

Creating the Universe: Here we have a 30-minute EPK of the cast rehearsing and getting paid good money just to goof off. At one point Taymor, unable to explain her thoughts, exclaims “where’s the FX guy?!”  (see FX on the Universe, below.)

Stars of Tomorrow: This featurette narrows its focus on the relatively unknown leads. Catch them fresh before they get corrupted by Hollywood and end up on Celebrity Justice.

All About the Music: Again, people getting paid to stand around and record the soundtrack. Nice gig if you can get it.

Moving Across the Universe: It’s all about the dancing choreography. Universe will be fondly remembered for its psychedelic visuals and Beatles music, but on the scale of dance innovations it can’t touch Twyla Tharp on a bad day.

FX on the Universe: More than just the typical “running in place on the green screen stage” B.S., this sequence actually delves into the conceptual process! Young filmmakers smitten with the auteur theory will be shaken to their roots learning that it wasn’t the director, but rather a very clever FX guy (Kyle Cooper) who brought most of the creative invention to the table.

FINAL THOUGHT

If you’re not emotionally affected by the Let it Be-ish rooftop sequence where Jude declares “All You Need is Love,” you’re better off with punk than pop.