By
Mitch Emerson
September 14, 2007 - 15:17
|
A love story set against the backdrop
of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind
exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of
Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the
riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The
star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood),
along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into
the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr.
Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their
guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the
young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to
find their own way back to each other. - Official Site
Some may akin
Across The Universe
to a two hour long music video. Well, it is in a way. It takes
elements of a movie and a music video and mashes them together in a
way that will work for some, but not for others. I, personally, am
not a Beatles fan so I cannot speak for the legions that are out
there, but I am willing to bet that the majority of those who will
not like this musical will be those fans. Me, on the other hand
thought the music was handled superbly. The cast all sing very well
and there are a few surprise faces and voices peppered throughout,
including Bono of U2, Eddie Izzard and Joe Cocker. Some of the more
memorable songs used were
Helter Skelter, sung in a vocal
style reminiscent of Janis Joplin by Dana Fuchs, who belts out a few
other tunes as well,
I Want To Hold Your Hand, heartbreakingly
done by TV Carpio and
Come Together by Joe Cocker and Martin
Luther. Sometimes trippy, sometimes confusing, but always well acted
and with superb visuals, Julie Taymor's
Across The Universe is
one of the few musicals that I actually liked.
With a large cast like this it's hard
to single out any one actor/actress so I will only mention those who
really impressed me, mainly the two male leads, Jim Sturgess as Jude
and Joe Anderson as Max. Sturgess has one hell of a voice and shows a
lot of emotion through his eyes while Anderson is , for the most
part, a happy go lucky type of guy which compliments Sturgess well.
Evan Rachel Wood's Lucy is kind of caught in the middle between her
love for Jude and her commitment to ending the war and does a fine
job of showing that distress.
Even though at times it feels like you
are watching a video, there is enough story to keep you interested,
albeit the characters come last after the music and the protest
against Vietnam (which I am sure is in reference to the war in Iraq),
but I won't go into that. Let's just say that I was interested and
amused by the whole movie, although it did seem to drag on a bit
three quarters of the way through.
I can say that I enjoyed the music
enough that I stopped by my local mall to pick up the soundtrack
right after seeing the movie. Too bad the CD doesn't come out until
the 14th. (which is when you will read this, so go get
it!)
Until Three Kings: The Musical or Black
Hawk Down: a Tragedy in Music,
keep reading
Mitch E
mitch@comicbookbin.com
ComicBookBin
