Very Good

Rating: 7/10 (13 October 2007)

I think this is a very good film that succeeds on its own terms, as a musical revue of the 1960's. A lot of the criticism of the film centers around the fact that it glosses over the tremendous upheavals of the 1960's by reducing them to glorified music videos. It is expecting too much to ask for a musical to really deepen our understanding of such a large historical moment. What the film does do well is remind us that there was a context for the Beatles' music. The settings for the songs serve as a kind of shorthand reminder of the larger context. Case in point: the setting of "Let it Be" as a funeral hymn sung at the funeral of an African-American boy killed in a race riot. On the one-hand, it reduces the racial tensions of 1960's America to three short minutes--on the other hand, it reminds us that "Let it Be" is really a hymn, a prayer for peace in a time of tremendous upheaval. And it is exquisitely sung. It is a moving moment in the film.
On the whole, Julie Taymor really makes the music come alive on the screen. Some of the voices are fantastic. Dana Fuchs is wonderful as the Janis-Joplinesque singer, and T.V. Carpio's tender rendition of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" early in the movie drew me in completely. One of the other criticisms of the film is that the versions here can't hold a candle to the originals, and here I have to vehemently disagree. Lennon and McCartney were great performers AND great songwriters, and it is a testament to their strengths as the latter that their music can be reinterpreted with such success. But it is also a testament to the music producers, arrangers and singers that the new versions work so well. "Helter Skelter," for one, is every bit as engaging as the original. The film is all the more impressive as many of the Beatles' recordings have become almost cliché--especially now that they have begun to be used more in advertising.
On the whole, a very imaginative film, which leaves you wanting more from director Julie Taymor.