Treading Dangerous Ground

Across The Universe - 4/5



There seem to be an inordinate amount of films being released at the moment - the average for October is over 8 per week - the majority of which are vying for space on mainstream screens. What this means is that if a film doesn't get an audience on its opening weekend, it's gone like that. No chancew for word of mouth to build (or me to keep up to date with this blog). And so Across the Universe has vanished already after attracting love it or hate it reviews (mainly the latter). And this is a decided shame, as it was one of the more unusual and creative movies released recently.

Nobody could accuse director Julie Taymor (whose last feature was Frida, but has more recently won awards for the stage version of The Lion King) of a lack of boldness or ambition. Messing with the almost sacred back catalogue of the Beatles is bound to place you in the firing line for critics. To do so without a real recognisable star in the leading roles (Evan Rachel Wood, pictured, doesn't quite count yet, although she does reveal a surprisingly strong singing voice in her repertoire here) is bravado bordering on folly.

To deal with the weaknesses first - the plot is light to the point of non-existant, the central love story (between Jude and Lucy, of course) is not really all that involving, its slightly overlong and one or two of the musical numbers (all Beatles songs) don't really work and it does, at times, play like a two hour long music video.

All of which rather misses the point. This is not a movie about the story, but about the music and a snapshot of the times that produced it - both the creative freedom and experimentation, but also the turbulent politics and spirit of revolution in the air. The emphasis is more on later Beatles numbers, the visuals borrowing from music videos, go for a decidedly unrealistic aesthetic at times, but when it works, it works well, helped in no small part by a very talented vocal cast. Let It Be sung by a black gospel choir was going to be beautiful, set to a backdrop of the Detroit riots it becomes painfuly poignant. Similarly, the shadow of Vietnam hangs heavily over a lively versio of Strawberry Fields Forever. Whilst the performance of Whilst my guitar sadly weeps is just heartbreaking. There are also skillfully handled changes in tone mid-song - the joyfully exuberant boys chorus on With a Little Help From my Friends gives way to a far more tender female solo.

The music is aided by a skillfully witty script by British TV writers Dick Clement and Ian le Frenais. Songs which don't actually appear are referenced in ways which steers just the right side of gimmicky - visually (Maxwell's Silver hammer), in the dialogue ("She came in through...") and in the score (which takes on the tune of A Day in the Life as Jude opens a newspaper). Then there are the cameos - the psychadelic guru who appears to have stolen Bono's hat and shades is, in fact, Bono seeming to enjoy a break from his saviour of the world image and giving his all to I Am The Walrus. Joe Cocker is wisely not given With a Little Help, but rather adds his gravelly gusto to a great Come Together. Others are more entertainingly bizarre - like multiple Salma Hayek's as background singers on one song and Eddie Izzard's amusingly surreal Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite.

Overall, the film scores well for ambition and visual inventiveness and is well worth watching for the times when it works well. Just a shame more people didn't get the chance to see it on the big screen.