DVD Review - Across the Universe

Written by Ami on February 13, 2008 – 6:40 am

Important: I am a Beatles fan, my views on the Beatles will come out in this review.

Across the Universe is a visually stimulating musical set in the tumultuous Vietnam Era. Using Beatles songs, director July Taymor relays a typical Hollywood love story with Jude(Jim Sturgess), a dock worker form Liverpool, and the innocent American girl he falls in love with, Lucy(Evan Rachel Wood).

After an initial meeting, Jude moves to New York with Lucy’s brother Max(Joe Anderson). Lucy’s fiance dies in combat in Vietnam, she moves to New York, and falls in love with Jude. The two love birds experience total love then the eventually falling apart and separation when Jude is deported back to Liverpool. But don’t worry, like any predictable love story, they do get back together at the end in a spectacular musical number.

Along with the main story, there are several different sub plots involved in the movie. The most outstanding was the love affair between JoJo(Martin Luther) and Sadie(Dana Fuchs), a guitar player and singer; respectively. JoJo comes to NY by way of the south after the death of ???(we are never really told) a young boy, during a violent altercation between civil rights protesters and National Guardsman. This, too, follows the typical meet, fall in love, separate, get back together kind of story line.

Interspersed in the story is, of course, many popular Beatles songs. The music is the backbone of this movie, and the real only selling point. The arrangements brought new light to many of the classics, such as a somber rendition of “Let It Be” performed during the civil rights altercations and resulting the funeral of the young boy. At times, though, I felt that some scenes and characters were there just to justify the song making an appearance in the film. Prudence(T.V. Carpio) is a shining blunt example of this.

Prudence, a lesbian from the mid-west, sings “I Want to Hold Your Hand” while pining for a straight cheerleader, then hitches to New York. Next we see her she is crawling in through a bathroom window(Get IT!?!), and then quickly falls for Sadie, who is obviously involved with JoJo. Next, Prudence locks herself in a closet and the cast serenades her with “Dear Prudence” in an attempt to lure her out. That is essentially the whole role of Prudence in this film. She was there for two songs and a waste of a good 15 to 20 minutes.

Though the story is stale and over done, the acting was good as well as the singing. The visuals and effects were bright and well done, but at times seemed forced, including unnecessary scenes with a lot of dancing, singing, and animation. All in all I found it hard to enjoy this movie because of the diversions of unnecessary characters and scenes. The music was great, though, and I will be investing in the soundtrack.