Across the Universe

I recently watched Across the Universe. I always meant to catch it in the dollar theater, but I never got around to seeing it. I think the lackluster critical response probably influenced my lack of initiative in seeing the film, but I added it to my Netflix queue (now with more than 400 titles). I bumped it to the top of my queue after seeing King of California with Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood. I thought the beautiful Ms. Wood was fantastic in that film, and I then felt a desire to see Across the Universe if only to see her performance. I bumped it to the top of my queue, and it arrived this week.

For those who don't know, Across the Universe is a film set in the 1960s and highlights the turbulence of that era. But what sets this film apart is that it is a musical and all the songs are Beatles songs. I am a huge Beatles fan and was curious as to how the movie would utilize the music. In the end, the movie just reminded me how great the Beatles were, and whenever someone would start singing I just wanted to listen to the authentic version. I don't think I would have had any problems with the music if their arrangements were somehow comparable to the originals or unique in some way. Some of the songs were well done, but I continually found myself enjoying the visuals much, much more than the music. And the visuals are often very memorable and extremely creative.

Along with the poor Beatles covers, Across the Universe tells a very typical and cliched 60s-era story. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, everything is great, drugs are involved, Vietnam butts in to things, someone gets drafted and set to war, people are involved in protests and rallies, boy and girl quarrel then get back together, etc. If you're going to make a musical with Beatles music, do something to make the story unique. Naming characters after people mentioned in Beatles songs is not enough to create a compelling story. If anything, the names are misleading. I kept expecting Maxwell (the name coming from Abbey Road's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer") to smash somebody with a hammer like he does in the song. That would have been dark and haunting, but it would have definitely made the story more unique. As it is, I really struggled to feel much for the characters because the story of the 60s has been told so frequently and there was nothing to differentiate this story from all the others.

I think Across the Universe could have been something special. I don't know what they could have done to make the music better, but when every song merely reminds the viewer that the original Beatles song is far and away superior, something needs to be done. If they had created a more compelling story and combined it with the creative visual approach, this film could have been far more compelling. I know that some of my friends (even those whose opinions I trust) liked this film a lot, but it wasn't for me. I gave it 3/5 stars on Netflix but only because half stars aren't available; otherwise it would get a 2.5/5.