Across The Universe is director Julie Taymor’s (Frida) latest effort, a rock musical based on the works of The Beatles.
Taking intertwining snapshots of life in the 1960s and setting them to songs like Hey Jude and All My Loving is a stock-standard fallback for your average documentary – and that is what Taymor, despite all her colourful pyrotechnics, sets out to create.
Taking all the elements of the 1960s and the Vietnam War, Taymor centres her story loosely on Liverpudlian artist Jude (Jim Sturgess), his sheltered activist girlfriend Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and the other tenants of the New York loft they inhabit.
I really wanted to love this film. While I will readily admit that I am not the biggest Beatles connoisseur outside of the odd drunken karaoke of Hey Jude, I have a lot of respect for their influence and importance during that turbulent decade. And while Across The Universe does pay adequate homage to the awesome foursome, there’s nothing here to elevate this anything close to being a masterpiece.
It’s beautiful, it has to be said. Julie Taymor’s history in theatre is obvious, no more so than in Mr Kite’s (Eddie Izzard) fairground sequence, a delight of costume, colour, and cardboard that any primary school Rock Eistedford judge would cream their pants over. Among all the psychedelia and remarkable choreography, the film could hardly be called boring.
Except it is. There’s no point giving us pretty pictures without some kind of context and, while the film is riveting in parts, it’s so much of a mess that there’s nothing to pin our amazement on. The story seems to jump between characters with little adeptness, and at times it’s almost impossible to follow. There are moments of brilliance, but it’s all far too indulgent, and Taymor drags her feet on pointless musical sequences instead of getting on with the story.
Jude and Lucy aren’t interesting enough to carry a film all by themselves, so it’s a good thing their supporters are given a little screen time. Rock stars Sadie and JoJo (Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy) are a revelation in their turbulent business/love relationship, and her husky Janis Joplin screams tear apart the scenes she appears in. Lesbian Prudence (TV Carpio) is a missed opportunity, as her character is left to drown in the colour while scenes that should belong to her are given to Bono and Eddie Izzard as vanity pieces. The only worthy cameos belong to Joe Cocker and Salma Hayek, who refuse to showstop, their parts integrated into the greater whole beautifully.
The film isn’t bad. When it works, it really works. The actors are adept both as singers and actors, and carry their parts well. But it’s Taymor’s insistence on making us clockwatch during the constant drag that brings it down. Given some editing, this could have been great, instead of just good. The best part is the music, in which case, the soundtrack will be on the shelves of your closest Kmart. Enjoy.
Taking intertwining snapshots of life in the 1960s and setting them to songs like Hey Jude and All My Loving is a stock-standard fallback for your average documentary – and that is what Taymor, despite all her colourful pyrotechnics, sets out to create.
Taking all the elements of the 1960s and the Vietnam War, Taymor centres her story loosely on Liverpudlian artist Jude (Jim Sturgess), his sheltered activist girlfriend Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and the other tenants of the New York loft they inhabit.
I really wanted to love this film. While I will readily admit that I am not the biggest Beatles connoisseur outside of the odd drunken karaoke of Hey Jude, I have a lot of respect for their influence and importance during that turbulent decade. And while Across The Universe does pay adequate homage to the awesome foursome, there’s nothing here to elevate this anything close to being a masterpiece.
It’s beautiful, it has to be said. Julie Taymor’s history in theatre is obvious, no more so than in Mr Kite’s (Eddie Izzard) fairground sequence, a delight of costume, colour, and cardboard that any primary school Rock Eistedford judge would cream their pants over. Among all the psychedelia and remarkable choreography, the film could hardly be called boring.
Except it is. There’s no point giving us pretty pictures without some kind of context and, while the film is riveting in parts, it’s so much of a mess that there’s nothing to pin our amazement on. The story seems to jump between characters with little adeptness, and at times it’s almost impossible to follow. There are moments of brilliance, but it’s all far too indulgent, and Taymor drags her feet on pointless musical sequences instead of getting on with the story.
Jude and Lucy aren’t interesting enough to carry a film all by themselves, so it’s a good thing their supporters are given a little screen time. Rock stars Sadie and JoJo (Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy) are a revelation in their turbulent business/love relationship, and her husky Janis Joplin screams tear apart the scenes she appears in. Lesbian Prudence (TV Carpio) is a missed opportunity, as her character is left to drown in the colour while scenes that should belong to her are given to Bono and Eddie Izzard as vanity pieces. The only worthy cameos belong to Joe Cocker and Salma Hayek, who refuse to showstop, their parts integrated into the greater whole beautifully.
The film isn’t bad. When it works, it really works. The actors are adept both as singers and actors, and carry their parts well. But it’s Taymor’s insistence on making us clockwatch during the constant drag that brings it down. Given some editing, this could have been great, instead of just good. The best part is the music, in which case, the soundtrack will be on the shelves of your closest Kmart. Enjoy.
