Excellent Use of Visual Metaphors

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2013)

Often, when we see a movie set in the Vietnam era, the directors and writers get lost in the atrocities of napalm and warfare. The directors of Across the Universe have imagined to illustrate the evils of war and radicalism without becoming enamored with it. Rather, these are backdrops to show us the true cost of war--the human conflicts. With visual metaphors that spend every minute showing us the human costs of war rather than telling us, this film borders on poetry rather than a movie. The balance of dramatic writing seen generally in stage productions was made much more poignant by the visual effects only possible on film. Some may wonder why I did not give the movie a 10. I was mildly disappointed by the Liverpool artist's singing or emotional output in his studio. Also, the movie focused so much on visual story telling that the plot lagged behind, especially between the Sade and her guitarist. I also never give movies a 10 unless they change my life. This was an excellent movie, but it did not change my life. Therefore, a 9.