In advance of our official review from Rich Gallagher, I'd like to
post a few of my thoughts.
From the earliest trailer that was circulating across the Internet
almost a year ago,
Across The Universe was creating a "buzz" of
excitement as being a wondrously magical film supported through
the songs of The Beatles. Of all the films of last year, this was
the one I was anticipating seeing the most.
Having just watched
Across The Universe I can understand
the mixed reviews this film received. For nearly its first hour, I was
having difficulty keeping my interest. It seemed that the film's story
was simply there to fuse into a particular Beatles song. At first, the
entire concept of the film's storytelling process seemed sort of hokey.
It didn't help that characters being introduced had names such as
Jude, Lucy, Prudence and
Maxwell. Every time a new character
was introduced to the story, you sensed what was coming next.....
surprisingly, it didn't always work that way.
It's actually in the film's second hour that story and music seem
to "come together" as one coherent unit. It really begins with a
terrific scene where Maxwell (Joe Anderson) enters an army induction
center. It is the first of many highly satisfying visual sequences that
bring the film to a new level of enjoyment.
The cast here, though totally unknown, is quite talented. Jude (Jim
Sturgess) is a dead-ringer for a young McCartney. My favorite
character, Sadie (Dana Fuchs), has a wonderfully raspy singing
voice that's reminiscent of Janis Joplin.
One of the problems I have with this film are the uneven
interpretations of the Beatles songs. The cast does their best
to put their best singing efforts forward, but often I found the renditions
to be rather flat. As would be expected, the best performances
came through cameos featuring legendary musicians, Joe Cocker and Bono.
On Blu-ray,
Across The Universe looks terrific. Though
there is a noticeable amount of natural film grain, it doesn't take
away from a finely detailed presentation. My biggest complaint is
the film's sound mix which never envelopes the listener. The film's
most important element is totally powerless here. Most all the sound
is front-heavy with the rears reserved for sound effects (such as
helicopter fly-overs). The fact that the music wasn't mixed to put
the listener dead center seemed to me to be a big mistake....
...but then again, what do I know?
Weighing all the plus and minuses,
Across The Universe is
mostly enjoyable and worth a see! You really have to admire the
fact that this film is quite an ambitious effort from its director, Julie
Taymor. It's amazing she was able to pull this off the way she did,
and hopefully this will be a stepping ladder onto more elaborate
projects of this kind.
