Musical #1: Across the Universe

I may actually be more torn about this movie than any other I've seen. No really-- hear me out. It's not just that it was sort of okay, not too great but not too bad... no, that would be too easy. Instead, I found it spectacular and gorgeous in some parts and off-puttingly awkward and hackneyed in others. I still don't know how I feel about this film, actually, and unless I see it again at some point, I expect this ambivalence is just what I'm going to be taking away from Across the Universe.

First off: the dialogue. Ouch. Cheesy story I can handle, suspension of disbelief about characters bursting into song I can handle. But that dialogue, man... I'm sorry, but it was really bad. Distractingly bad. Like, I have to look away from the screen and cringe and I'm losing faith in this film with every passing moment bad. Yeah, it's possible that maybe they were going for stiff cheesy dialogue on purpose as if even the spoken words were song lyrics, but if so, it needed to be done better. More purposefully.

But--- this brings me to the musical numbers. The whole point-- conceptually, artistically, whatever-- of this movie. Some of them were merely there, some were roped in a little too artificially (i.e. Jude looking at a pile of strawberries and then bursting into "Strawberry Fields Forever"... hmm) but overall, they were what made this movie great. The very first time I had to stop whatever else I was doing or thinking about and stare in wonder at the screen was the scene of "Let it Be" during the Detroit Riots. It was actually rather heartwrenching, which is an impressive feat for a movie (particularly a musical) to accomplish. The trippy "I am the Walrus" number was also pretty damn sweet and gorgeously done, and the final "All you Need is Love" song was also really quite lovely.

A word about Eddie Izzard. Now, I *love* Eddie Izzard, maybe a little more than is even justified. And I love the fact that he was in this movie. But.... the Mr. Kite scene was really unnecessary. And not unnecessary in a Here Do You Want a Chocolate Bar, Sure Why Not sort of way. Unnecessary in a Here Do You Want This Pinecone I Found Outside It Kind of Looks Like Abraham Lincoln sort of way. It was just silly. While it was worth it to me, a fan of Eddie Izzard, to see him in this film, I can't see this scene being worth watching for the average person.

Anyway.

I've loved the Beatles for years and years-- grew up listening to them, actually, as my parents also love the Beatles-- so obviously I was predisposed to enjoy the music. I think the songs were relatively well-chosen, although I would've loved to see Here Comes the Sun, but that's just because I think that's a brilliant song. I had been hoping for a few more cool fucked-up Nam scenes, but... well, this blog has enough Nam already I guess. Overall, I think this movie would've been better if it had just been one long conceptual Beatles music video with all of the in-between scenes deleted, but it's still worth sitting through the dialogue to see some of the beautiful musical sequences.