Across the Universe
I'm distracting myself from imminent standardized testing with movie reviews. Also Photoshop, but the results of that are on my other computer.
I watched Across the Universe with my mom and quite enjoyed it, although it’s…bizarre is the best adjective I can think of. It starts out along a fairly typical storyline, then quickly and somewhat haphazardly begins throwing in more and more different pieces, brings them all together, gives them a few shoves in several directions, then descends into an odd (but colorful) sort of drug trip, and finally emerges (more or less) back into reality, choosing (mostly) one aspect of the story to follow through to the end. I was of the opinion that a little bit more editing would have produced an excellent story, but as it is it’s disorienting. Then my mom suggested that the film doesn’t necessarily have a coherent start-to-finish plot because it is actually the story of the Beatles’ music. Suddenly the entire thing became a lot more interesting.
As soon as I looked at the movie with the idea that the music itself is the protagonist, I began to understand why it is put together the way it is. The events and the characters are there to explain the songs, not the other way around. Main characters include Lucy, Jude, Max (presumably as in Maxwell), Jojo, and Prudence, and quite a few lines come either directly or indirectly from the songs. (“Where did she come from?” “She came in through the bathroom window.”) This applies equally strongly to the plot, making the movie a fascinating exercise in a new and different method of storytelling. In this, I think it succeeded admirably, and I’m quite pleased to be forced to change my perspective and expand my own views of plot and character.
Speaking of expanding ideas, the field in which the film truly excels is its cinematographic and computer-generated effects. Standard live-action shots are blended with animated backgrounds, collage-like sequences, and digital effects to set the tone and literally illustrate what is going on beneath the surface layer of reality. Leaving aside the drug trip parts, the really striking examples of this are in several war-related sequences, including a really amazing bit of animation in the draft office. The filmmakers use special effects to their fullest potential in this movie, taking advantage of the medium of film to say things they couldn’t say any other way, and mostly manage not to overdo it. One of the most powerful scenes, near the end, uses fairly understated effects to blend together scenes of two characters in bars on opposite sides of the world, showing how they’re thinking of each other at that moment.
And of course, I have to say something about the music. The songs do not appear in strictly chronological order, nor does the movie include every Beatles song (that would just be ridiculous), but it does, as I mentioned, give a narrative for the Beatles’ main body of work. Each song is thoughtfully placed, giving a plausible scenario for its existence and for the progression from one song to another. Most of the songs have been reworked to some degree-done a capella, done as instrumental, done using elements of different styles, characters alternating which lines they sing, etc.-but all are performed well, work well in the film, and tend to say extremely interesting things in their combination of images and words. Furthermore, the musical stylistic choices allow for some wonderful juxtapositions of different scenes; for example, a white upper-middle-class army funeral is overlaid with a gospel version of “Let It Be,” sung by an African-American woman at a teenager’s funeral in Detroit.
Ultimately, I felt like I was on a whirlwind tour of the most tumultuous parts of the late 60’s-early 70’s, without focusing too much on any one detail. But the more I think about it, the more I think that more focus simply isn’t necessary in this case. I might have appreciated it, being the detail-obsessed fiend that I am, but that isn’t what this movie is about. It’s about the music, and about how the music fit into 1960’s-70’s New York, and about everything the Beatles were trying to say and everything people took from their music. It’s no wonder the whole thing is a bit chaotic, really. But for those of us who grew up on Beatles records (even if we weren’t yet born in the 70’s and needed Mom to explain some of the references), the movie has exactly the right amount of sentimental value. It beautifully captures the essential spirit of the Beatles, and displays a wonderful willingness to dive headfirst into both the complexities of that era and of filmmaking itself.
I watched Across the Universe with my mom and quite enjoyed it, although it’s…bizarre is the best adjective I can think of. It starts out along a fairly typical storyline, then quickly and somewhat haphazardly begins throwing in more and more different pieces, brings them all together, gives them a few shoves in several directions, then descends into an odd (but colorful) sort of drug trip, and finally emerges (more or less) back into reality, choosing (mostly) one aspect of the story to follow through to the end. I was of the opinion that a little bit more editing would have produced an excellent story, but as it is it’s disorienting. Then my mom suggested that the film doesn’t necessarily have a coherent start-to-finish plot because it is actually the story of the Beatles’ music. Suddenly the entire thing became a lot more interesting.
As soon as I looked at the movie with the idea that the music itself is the protagonist, I began to understand why it is put together the way it is. The events and the characters are there to explain the songs, not the other way around. Main characters include Lucy, Jude, Max (presumably as in Maxwell), Jojo, and Prudence, and quite a few lines come either directly or indirectly from the songs. (“Where did she come from?” “She came in through the bathroom window.”) This applies equally strongly to the plot, making the movie a fascinating exercise in a new and different method of storytelling. In this, I think it succeeded admirably, and I’m quite pleased to be forced to change my perspective and expand my own views of plot and character.
Speaking of expanding ideas, the field in which the film truly excels is its cinematographic and computer-generated effects. Standard live-action shots are blended with animated backgrounds, collage-like sequences, and digital effects to set the tone and literally illustrate what is going on beneath the surface layer of reality. Leaving aside the drug trip parts, the really striking examples of this are in several war-related sequences, including a really amazing bit of animation in the draft office. The filmmakers use special effects to their fullest potential in this movie, taking advantage of the medium of film to say things they couldn’t say any other way, and mostly manage not to overdo it. One of the most powerful scenes, near the end, uses fairly understated effects to blend together scenes of two characters in bars on opposite sides of the world, showing how they’re thinking of each other at that moment.
And of course, I have to say something about the music. The songs do not appear in strictly chronological order, nor does the movie include every Beatles song (that would just be ridiculous), but it does, as I mentioned, give a narrative for the Beatles’ main body of work. Each song is thoughtfully placed, giving a plausible scenario for its existence and for the progression from one song to another. Most of the songs have been reworked to some degree-done a capella, done as instrumental, done using elements of different styles, characters alternating which lines they sing, etc.-but all are performed well, work well in the film, and tend to say extremely interesting things in their combination of images and words. Furthermore, the musical stylistic choices allow for some wonderful juxtapositions of different scenes; for example, a white upper-middle-class army funeral is overlaid with a gospel version of “Let It Be,” sung by an African-American woman at a teenager’s funeral in Detroit.
Ultimately, I felt like I was on a whirlwind tour of the most tumultuous parts of the late 60’s-early 70’s, without focusing too much on any one detail. But the more I think about it, the more I think that more focus simply isn’t necessary in this case. I might have appreciated it, being the detail-obsessed fiend that I am, but that isn’t what this movie is about. It’s about the music, and about how the music fit into 1960’s-70’s New York, and about everything the Beatles were trying to say and everything people took from their music. It’s no wonder the whole thing is a bit chaotic, really. But for those of us who grew up on Beatles records (even if we weren’t yet born in the 70’s and needed Mom to explain some of the references), the movie has exactly the right amount of sentimental value. It beautifully captures the essential spirit of the Beatles, and displays a wonderful willingness to dive headfirst into both the complexities of that era and of filmmaking itself.