LAURA JOHNSON
A&E Assistant Editor
Sitting on a beach on England’s misty shores, a boy, quite alone, slowly turns to the camera and sings, “Will anybody listen to my story.” The boy’s name is Jude, and his story is one that is as old and cliché as time itself: love.
The real question, however, is will anybody want to listen to this story?
It’s a riot, it’s a visionary delight and it seems it may take a certain type of person to truly appreciate or value such an ambitious film.
Going out on a limb, director Julie Taymor (director of the Broadway version of “The Lion King”) decided to follow in the footsteps of “Moulin Rouge” and make a movie combining high-art house effects and Beatles songs into a landscape of a reality that has yet to be achieved. In other words, it is a straight trip back into the 60s and probably beyond.
“Across the Universe” was released in theaters in Los Angeles and New York on Friday, and it will be released nationwide tomorrow.
The basic plot starts with Jude, played by newcomer Jim Sturgess, a British shipyard worker who goes to the United States to find his long-lost father. He meets some new mates at Princeton University who introduce him to marijuana. One of these new guys, Max, played by another newcomer Joe Anderson, has an attractive sister named Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood (an independent film starlet — “Thirteen” and “Running With Scissors” — who is dating Marilyn Manson in real life), and they all runaway to New York together to pursue finding the meaning of life.
Once there, it seems Jude and Lucy cannot help but fall in love. They meet insane people and frequent the most bohemian places possible. They do this in the name of love.
As for the love story, there should have been more of a Romeo and Juliette type of relationship — the kind where one would cease to breath without the other. Instead, the two lovebirds only exude signs of mutual attraction — they have a few frolics through the grass and share an exemplary list of love songs, yet none of it comes off as being that one, great true love.
Mentioning a line from or singing almost every Beatle song imaginable, the film strives to keep true Beatle fans happy with paying homage to everything the band had to offer. The little night club where see Jude debuts in the film looks strangely like the one the Beatles’ held their first gigs back in Liverpool.
The characters in the film all have names quoted from Beatle scripture: including Prudence, a lesbian with an odd Yoko resemblance; Sadie, a sexy version of Janice Joplin; Dr. Robert, a spiritual leader tantalizingly played by Bono; Max, Lucy’s older brother who actually has a silver hammer in one scene; Jo-Jo, a Jimi Hendrix extraordinaire and Mr. Kite — just to name a few.
As it is a musical, the singing is well worth mentioning, Sturgess proves to be the most talented of the bunch, soulfully serenading not only his girl, but the audience, as well. Wood, on the other hand, although able to stay on pitch, fails to offer anything of interest in her voice — it’s almost too sweet.
Other songs in the picture are just a little too over the top, featuring animatronic blue men and other odd-ball creatures, this independent film, tries too hard to remind the audience that it is just that — an indie. And still, some songs are just plain fun.
The most powerful song, however, is the all-pipes bearing rendition of “Let it Be,” soulfully sung by Carol Woods in a tragic scene of two funerals. Pulling at the heartstrings, the words seem like they have never been so important to hear.
Sometimes a great story cannot be told in any other form than that of a satire. As the world is now, it is no accident that a picture like this was made now. Paralleling the war of today with the one of yesterday, through the poetry of the Beatles, Taymor and her camp are trying to offer peace to anyone who will listen
For all of its flaws, the film really is a tribute to the greatest band of all time. It is a must-see for any Beatle maniac.
09-20-2007
