Across the Universe (2007) Movie Review Analysis and Commentary

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I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone in the world is born with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Beatles’ music and lyrics. It’s one of those inescapable things. I’m not a fanatical Beatles fan myself, but I knew that when Jude opened a newspaper to read some important plot information in the film ‘Across the Universe’ that the instrumental tune on the soundtrack was “A Day in the Life” and the lyrics – had they been sung instead of played at that precise instant – were “I read the news today, oh boy.” In that knowing moment there was pure joy, as something clicked inside of me and the movie worked and rolled along and moved me as a result. There are many, many moments like this in ‘Across the Universe’, and it makes the movie an incredible experience.

‘Across the Universe’ is a movie musical set entirely to the music of The Beatles. It is a musical that actually works because the songs tell the story and help to move it forward. Most musicals do the opposite, in that the songs actually stop the forward momentum of the narrative. Not here. The movie never stops moving. There is very little actual dialogue, and it’s fascinating how director Julie Taymor uses the right songs at the right times to make the lyrics work to tell the story. It helps, of course, that almost all of the characters are named after Beatles’ songs. You’ve got your Englishman coming to America named Jude. Evan Rachel Wood plays Lucy (and you just keep waiting and waiting for someone to burst into “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”). Jude’s good buddy is named Max after “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and can actually be seen holding a silver hammer at one point. Then there’s JoJo and Prudence and so on and so forth. Finding all of these little nods is part of the fun of the movie.

Curiously, though, the movie doesn’t require its audience to notice these things to understand the story, or even to have heard all of the songs on the soundtrack prior to attending (although I can’t imagine anyone not being familiar with the songs in the first place). The movie is a moving (although sometimes clichéd) love story set against the backdrop of the mid-to-late 60s. For about twenty minutes the whole thing feels like a big experiment, and then something strange happens. You lose yourself in the movie. It becomes a dreamlike experience. Time ceases to make any sense. The film is a perfect marriage of sound and picture. In fact, I don’t think Julie Taymor ever has to make a movie again. She pretty much nailed everything right here.

Taymor, as you probably know, came from theater winning two Tony awards for ‘The Lion King’. She then moved to film with 1999’s ‘Titus’ with Anthony Hopkins and 2002’s excellent ‘Frida’ with Salma Hayek. She has personally been nominated for 2 Oscars, and looks to be nominated for many more. Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal (look him up on IMDB, he’s done a ton of stuff, but the soundtrack I remember him the most for is ‘Interview with the Vampire’) worked on the ‘Across the Universe’ soundtrack with Taymor. He is also Taymor’s partner in life and work, as he lives with her in New York. He won one of the two Oscars that ‘Frida’ received for music (it got nominated for a total of 6).

Goldenthal had a lot of help with the music, though, due to the excellence of the performers. Aside from the great singing voices of the lead actors, however, there are many amusing, wonderful, and unique cameos. For example, there is Bono’s fully formed performance as Dr. Robert. Genius comedian Eddie Izzard shows up as Mr. Kite in the movie’s most psychedelic and inventive scene. Salma Hayek shows up in the form of multiple singing nurses. And God is that really Joe Cocker playing three different roles while singing “Come Together”? Yes it is. Wow.

Also worth mentioning is the way the music sounds. It sounds like the actors are all actually singing live on set while dancing around and walking down alleyways. This unique sound makes the songs feel more natural and makes the movie feel less like a typical musical and more like a version of real life in which people may just spring into song every once in a while. I was amazed to find out that, despite the difficulties involved, they did, in fact, record 90 percent of the songs live and on set. They were not dubbed with studio recordings in post-production. Wow again.

But technical information and Beatles trivia aside, the film will move you. The story is funny, heartbreaking, scary, and warm. It’s got something for everyone, much like The Beatles’ repertoire itself. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. In fact, this whole review is really a bit useless. Really, it should just read: “go see this movie.” Even if you’re not a fan of The Beatles (how can anyone not be a fan?) you will still enjoy the movie. Even if you’re not a fan of musicals, you will probably still enjoy this movie. If you didn’t dig the 60s, you will probably still dig the movie. If you don’t like movies in general, you will probably very likely still enjoy this movie in particular. It will move you. Sheesh, what else is there to say? Go see this movie. You’ll be humming along whether you mean to or not.

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