Across The Universe

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Beatles are the most important artists of the last 150 years, and their music is the definition of perfection. Each song, no matter who sings it or how it’s instrumentally arranged or what context its song, is sublime and perfect. Their songs sound as if they were magically created out of thin air, whole and unblemished, as if there were no other possible way that song could’ve been written because it just sounds…well, perfect.

This is the primary thing I took away from my viewing of Julie Taymor’s ode to The Beatles and their era, Across The Universe. The movie could’ve been a soundtrack and a blank screen and I would’ve still enjoyed it, both emotionally and aesthetically. The songs are so perfect for insertion into a film narrative because each song has its own emotional narrative, its own self-contained beautiful story to tell, and each sounds so distinct and unique. Ok, last time I say it this post: The Beatles are the best thing about this movie, hands down, don’t even try to argue.

The film itself? Certainly not perfect, but not too shabby either. When it’s good, its really good. Certain moments throughout the film, when the combination of heavenly music, wonderfully creative and entrancing visuals, and engrossing and emotional narrative is at its prime, are just terrific. When it’s bad, it’s pretty dull/weird. When songs seem randomly plopped in for the sake of including the song, and the narrative takes a backseat to trippy visuals and indulgent fantasy sequences, the movie isn’t worthy of the music it expresses.

The narrative is a sort of “duplex” narrative, if you will. On one level, you’ve got your basic boy meets girl, they fall in love, they fight, they find each other again. Pull the zoom back a bit and the narrative is about life as a youthful dreamer in the 1960′s, exploring the dichotomy of a nation split into equal parts war/violence and love/peace. The nostalgic feel is very much alive here, and the whole film is imbued with a strong tinge of melancholy reminiscent of those times.

When the songs and visuals serve the narrative, the film is very good. As cliche as their story is, we do care about Lucy and Jude, the two lovers at the heart of the film. My favorite musical sequences were ones that offered good covers of the Beatles’ tunes, interesting visuals and felt connected to the story of Lucy and Jude. My absolute favs were the “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” sequence, the “Hey Jude” sequence, and the “Let It Be” sequence. All three of these musical sequences told beautiful stories that went perfectly with the lyrics of the songs, and they all had some stunning visuals (especially the Army-meets-Broadway-esque “I Want You”). Other songs, like Bono’s rendition of “I Am The Walrus,” or Joe Cocker’s rendition of “Come Together,” felt very obviously out of place. Their inclusion contributed nothing to the narrative and didn’t make much sense.

My favorite cover in the whole film was the beautiful, slowed down version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” which was arranged beautifully and interestingly. I always think that with a cover song, especially of The Beatles’ music which is so perfect on its own, you must put your own spin on it for it to be successful. Otherwise, it’s just karaoke. “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was a terrific cover, while Lucy’s lame “Blackbird” was a prefect example of karaoke cover at its worst.

Something else I really enjoyed was that the film sneaked in some homages to the four Beatles films, A Hard Day’s Night, Help, Yellow Submarine, and Let It Be. During the “A Little Help From My Friends” sequence, the boys run around the grass, wrestling and jumping on one another as the camera swirls around above them. This is a direct allusion to the “Can’t Buy Me Love” sequence in A Hard Day’s Night, when the boys blow off steam by running around in a field together. In the “For The Benefit of Mr. Kite” sequence (something that felt more like a Michel Gondry music video and added absolutely nothing to the narrative), the skinny weird blue dudes with big smiles are a direct homage to the “blue meanies,” the villians in the animated film Yellow Submarine. And most obviously, the final rooftop concert was a tip of the cap to the big rooftop concert that marked both the end of the film Let It Be (a documentary about the Beatles’ final days) and the final concert the Fab Four ever played together. I didn’t catch a direct homage to Help, though the film featured a bunch of beach shots (as in Help). What, didn’t I tell you I’m an insane Beatles fan?

If you’re a fan of The Beatles, you will enjoy this movie, no doubt about it. If you aren’t a fan of The Beatles, I think this movie will certainly help you become one; you just can’t escape the awesomeness of their music. I just can’t see anyone not enjoying this movie. You might not like parts of it, I sure didn’t, but I think it’s just impossible not to love it when its at its best moments. It’s hard for me to judge this one objectively because I just can’t imagine anyone seeing this movie without recognizing at least a few of the songs (and if you’re like me, you’ll spend half the time trying to guess which song will come next. I was expecting “Get Back,” “Fixing a Hole” and “Sexy Sadie,” but didn’t get any of them!)

Is there anyone who has seen this who wasn’t familiar with these songs beforehand? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Overall, taking into consideration some truly mind-blowing visuals (I loved the carrying of the Statue of Liberty), some touching emotional moments, some forced songs and whack narrative detours, and of course, the best music in history, I give this movie a solid B. I liked it and was certainly glad I saw it, but I’d rather just listen to The Boys at home than watch this a second time.