A Psychedelic Awakening for the Senses

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2007)

Across the Universe has been on my "Must See" list since I heard about it back in September 2006. I must say, that the wait was definitely worth it. All my expectations were met, and then some. As Stephen Holden said in The New York Times, "Imperfections, however glaring, become endearing quirks..." but those quirks quickly become perfections.
We begin our story with Jude (a very promising Jim Sturgess), sitting on a foggy beach in solitude. He turns to the camera, and asks the audience "Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay?", inviting them in, giving the movie the quality of a story that's been handed down from generation. The music is soft and resonant, as is the sorrow in his voice. WE then fade into a montage of waves crashing against the beach, with an image of our main character's love, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), being shown in a protest, while viciously being restrained by the police. The waves come crash on the beach, just like the changes of the 60's did on the main characters.
Contrast is a huge element in this movie. The movie starts out with The Beatles' earlier Ed Sullivan show songs, backdropping a more innocent '60's, then transforms into the revolutionary, darker times, with tracks like "I Am the Walrus" and "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" to help them cope with changes like Lucy's brother, Max (Joe Anderson), going off to Vietnam, and the core group of friends they had going their separate ways.
Director Julie Taymor is known for her artistic and stimulating way of composing a shot. She takes extra care in making sure that her "paintings", shall we say, emphasize the hidden meanings of the scene, instead of simply taking her brush and smothering it so that we, the audience, can't understand what she's trying to get at. In the scene where Max goes to get examined for the draft, we see him and the other terrified draftees carrying our country's pride and joy, Lady Liberty, as they sing "She's So heavy". Liberty is getting hard to carry, and the country is relying on it's youth to support it, no matter how scared or confused they are. I could get into how it parallels with today's political situation, but honestly, this movie was made to be enjoyed and thought about, not bring up another protest that we've already heard so much about from other recent films.
By the end of the movie, after being separated by political turmoil, and a little thing Jude forgot to get called a Visa, he and Lucy find a way back into each other's love, as the reunited friends sing "Love is All you Need", which is the feeling that swims through the theater by the end. The ending may have been the tiniest bit cutesy, but it was resolved and it went out with a bang, like most good movies do. And finally, a color treated image of Lucy and Jude embracing while suspended in water, as Bono sings "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" (his performance wasn't exactly Oscar worthy, but hey, it's Bono, need I say more?)begins the credits.
Director Julie Taymor has made a stunning, thought provoking, savory feast of a film. The cast was nearly perfect in their performance, complete with pleasantly surprising appearances such as Eddie Izzard as the audacious Mr. Kite, and Salma Hayek, who starred in Taymor's previous film "Frida", as a pin-up singing nurse. The story flowed wonderfully, and...I could continued to gush, but I'd need eight days a week for that (sorry, Beatles fans, the song didn't make the cut).