Across The Universe review (gua.com.my)

by Max Koh

Nov 26, 2007

Ratings: 

8/10

Cast:

Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Eddie Izzard, Martin Luther Mccoy, T.V. Carpio and Bono

Genre:

Musical, Romance

Review:

“I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus. Goo, goo g’joob.”

Any Baby Boomer growing up in the 60s would recognise that line from I Am The Walrus, a mind-boggling Beatles number filled with nonsensical ramblings (something about yellow mustards and pornographic priestess) and references to the drug LSD (of which Lennon claimed to be high on while writing the first two lines of the song).

For most of us born after that era, listening to that song will only make you go “What the ----?” before you find the chorus lodged in your subconscious and replaying itself over and over again. Goo, goo g’joob. Get it?

You don’t need an acid trip to find out what the Fab Four were saying in that song; just watch Julie Taymor’s wonderful film as she takes you down… not Penny Lane or Strawberry Fields but through the tumultuous 60s, where flower power, anti-war movements, and social revolution was the order of the day (at least in the good old United States of America).

In the film, U2’s Bono gives a stirring and psychedelic rendition of the afore-mentioned song as counter-culture spiritual guru Dr. Robert. How psychedelic? Let’s just say, you don’t need your weeds for this one.

Across The Universe follows Liverpool-bred Jude (Sturgess) who travels to America to find his biological father but gets acquainted with the free-spirited Max (Anderson). And he soon falls for Max’s sister, Lucy (Wood) “when he saw her standing there”.

With a little help from their friends – in the form of the Janis Jolin-esque Sadie (Fuchs), the Jimi Hendrix-styled Jo-Jo (McCoy) and the lesbian cheerleader Prudence (Carpio) – we are transported into the Beatles-dominated universe filled with the songs for the sappy (While My Guitar Gently Weeps, If I Fell), the psychedelic (For The Benefit of Mr. Kite, Happiness Is A Warm Gun), the cutesy (All My Loving, I Want To Hold Your Hand), and the rollicking (Come Together, Helter Skelter).

And what a ride it is! Sure, some scenes merely exist for certain songs to be sung but when you have Eddie Izzard’s bizarre but brilliant circus-performance on Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite, you overlook the shortcomings. 

The director has taken liberties in reinterpreting and rearranging some of the songs. An example is the delightful sing-a-long I Want To Hold Your Hand transformed into a lovelorn ballad. Or the classic Let It Be revamped into a soaring gospel number with a choir thrown in!

If you are a true-blue Beatles fan, you may enjoy the new interpretations. If you are new (or casual) fan, you might just get converted into Beatles devotee.

The songs are that good! The director has done a great job of retaining some of the quintessential Beatles numbers and tweaking several for a new generation. Word is they used period instruments to get the original sound of that era. 

And the stunning cinematography (ranging from High-School-Musical-type choreographies to graphic-heavy visuals) makes the film a visual fest. One memorable scene (among others) is when Max and some US soldiers carry the Statue of Liberty across the jungles of Vietnam. Cryptic?

Running at over two hours, you’ll probably get a sore bum at the end of the movie. But it is worth it, as what you get is a magical tour through the slamming 60s, where nothing is real so there’s nothing to get hung up about. Goo goo g’joob! Get 

it?

Did you know? 

Across The Universe features 31 Beatles songs, spanning from the lesser known Hold Me Tight, Why Don’t We Do It In The Road to the more famous Hey Jude, Blackbird, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

Also look out for references to other Beatles songs (and characters) in the script. Trust me, you will be able to spot all of them before you turn 64.

Joe Cocker does a ‘Nutty Professor’ by playing three characters when singing Come Together. And Bono is brilliant as the Neal Cassady-type spiritual guru Dr Robert. And did I mention that the sizzling Salma Hayek makes a cameo as five sexy, dancing nurses? Yes, five!