Across the Universe (2007)

Director: Julie Taymor

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson

The music of The Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.

Before ‘Mamma Mia’ doing ABBA songs, there was ‘Across the Universe’ doing songs of The Beatles. I must confess to not being the biggest Beatles fan, but I thought the music were well chosen for the film. I also hardly recognized some of the different versions of their songs, which made it feel new in a way.

I have mixed feelings about ‘Across the Universe’. The film revolves around Jude, who – together with a student friend from college, Max – decides on the spur of the moment to head to New York to start a new life. They rent a room from a singer, Sadie. At times I found the film hard to follow due to its unusual narration. The visual effects were also…interesting.

The first half actually bored me at times and I found myself ushering the movie along with the help of my TV remote’s Fast Forward button. After the halfway mark, though, the film turned almost ‘what the f…!’ weird. I mean, this is a very strange movie indeed. It is guaranteed to be a musical unlike any you’ve seen before – and I’m still deciding whether that’s actually a good thing, or not.

Some of the musical segments are incredibly well done, like the sequence of Max going to war. It is by far the most interesting military training I’ve ever seen in a movie. This musical is definitely an art film and will appeal to those with an appreciation for art films. Was I entertained? Yeah, sure I was. But there’s also weirdness in abundance, a love story I didn’t find romantic, and some characters I didn’t care about. Alas, I have to say this is a movie I don’t think I’ll be watching again.

‘Across the Universe’ only managed to earn back $29.6 million on its $70.8 million budget. Yikes! The film did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Costume Design, and several other award nominations.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.