ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

I went to the Elgin Theatre on Thursday night to watch a musical called “The Drowsy Chaperone“. Along with being hilarious and brilliant, it raised a great point. When confronted by a silly moment in the story, the show’s narrator tells the audience that in musicals, the story is really only there to transition from one big number to the next. I got a smile when I heard this, because just over one week ago, I sat in the same theatre and watched a movie-musical that has received split opinion…much of it aimed at the story. Before I go much further, I should cast my bean into the appropriate jar: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is gorgeous.

Yes, the story is a simple one, and not tremendously original. The story takes yet another look at the era of change that was America in the 60’s. Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool for America in search of his birth father. Once he crosses the pond, he meets Max (Joe Anderson), a wild spirit, at Princeton. Max takes him under his wing, and introduces him to his friends, family, and his sister Lucie (Evan Rachel Wood). The three of them move to New York and start living a bohemian lifestyle surrounded by artists, musicians, poets, rebels, and lovers. And althewhile, the movie is fueled by the music and lyrics of The Beatles.

Along with the 33 songs that make up the soundtrack- most sung, some instrumental -the movie has fun tossing around Fab Four references at every turn. There are far too many references, both subtle and overt, to tally. More than once though, a new character walks into a scene to a “who are you?” (Typical answer – “My name is Prudence”). Every time, I grinned and thought to myself “Of course you are”. Like I said, the story is a simple one.

The movie’s real strength comes from the music, and the visuals. Some of the songs are sung straight up – but most are given a twist. Two of the first songs in the film are “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “All My Loving”. I’ve heard these songs far too often to count, and could sing every word if asked. Both come from The Beatles early, poppier, mop-topped days. But both have been scaled back, and slowed down. Without changing a single word or note, the songs suddenly have a sadness and a longing that I had never heard in them before. “All My Loving” is sung to a lover being left behind. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is sung to a crush that seems unattainable. In each case, the re-arrangement is a brilliant touch.

The movie is filled with incidents like these…

• “Let It Be” is a gospel requiem for a society that claims innocent victims.
• “Revolution” is an angry argument in the face of questioning radicals.
• “Girl” is a lonely, melancholy introduction to the entire tale to be told.

One last note about the music – according to Taymor 90% of it was recorded live, which really serves the story well. I’ve always thought that if a character is singing in a crowded office, it shouldn’t come through the sound system as if they recorded the track in a studio.

Along with the powerful music, there are some stunning and imaginative visuals that really set the movie apart for me. Director Julie Taymor has become a master of the elaborate visual – if you didn’t get to see her stage version of THE LION KING, then at least go and rent 2002’s FRIDA, and prepare your eyes for a trip. In ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, she has staged each song as much more than individual music videos. She has given them context, and painted the lyrics in very bold colours. The scene set to “I Want You” is probably the apex; an Uncle Sam poster reaching out to grab a cowering recruit, the army exam offices descending upon the grunts like jail cells, and a unit of marines carry Lady Liberty on their shoulders just as the song cries out “She’s So Heavy”.

Again, some visuals are obvious (there are lots of apples and strawberries), but in the face of scenes where football players, nurses, and downtown commuters subtly become intricately choreographed. One complaint I’ve had about many modern movie-musicals is that they don’t push to achieve something on the screen that can’t be achieved on a stage. While there are some numbers in ACROSS THE UNIVERSE that could be easily staged in a theatre, Taymor has done an admirable job of pushing her imagination to make the most of the medium.

The movie isn’t flawless. Bono and Eddie Izzard show up for a moment or two and seem a tad out of place, and there are some allusions to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin that feel like they are in the wrong movie. Still, they are minor stumbles and can be easily forgiven in the face of this much ambition. This isn’t the first attempt to transcribe a single musician’s work into something bigger. It’s a trend that has been in full flight for at least five years with no signs of slowing down. The results are decidedly mixed. Sometimes you end up with “Movin‘ Out” (fantastic). Other times you end up with “We Will Rock You” (cheesy). For my money, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is easily one of the better experiments in this mad, musical science.

Matineescore: ★ ★ ★ out of ★ ★ ★ ★

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