Taymor's got swag!

Rating: Null/10 (1 December 2013)

The film here is full of flaws I normally bag in other films: it is cloying, all the sentiments are blunt, it's awash with clichés about love, some of the Beatles covers are too glossy and musical-y, the whole film feels like one long videoclip reel, and you just know that the representation of a New York in the throes of Vietnam is way too clean when a pimp and his prostitutes merrily chime in on a rendition of Come Together.
It is far too long. Not all of the numbers were worth keeping I think. Taymor and her crew were probably too attached to the whole thing, and worked hard on it, that they couldn't see that leaving some pieces off would benefit the whole letting it breathe. I Am the Walrus and the circus number one after the other were overkill, and it never quite recovers after that point.
And yet what cinematic voluptuousness and ardor on display. Taymor must be one hell of a woman. Imaginative, visual, feisty.
I think the distinction worth making here is that yes it is superficial, the essence that love matters is never anything less than glaringly obvious, you never have to dive in to find anything on your own, you are never surprised. And yet the cinematic intuition of that essence is evenhanded and honest, done in a completely open and soulful way. The cinematic parts are not new: Bob Fosse, Dennis Potter, Kusturica. But it has such wonderful passion in the weaving of the material.
This is visual imagination worth getting excited about.
Overall, it feels for me like being close to a very vibrant person; her every inflection of speech, playful turn of the head and laughter are so hearty you just appreciate the personality itself, how it is, no less than engaging in conversation about 'important' things, a matter of intelligent disposition. Maybe the two of you are not soulmates, but you're never less than glad to have her in your life.