A Flavor of the 60's to others, but it was music without plot to me

Rating: 2/10 (10 February 2008)

I think that the reason many people love this movie is because it is cinematically breath-taking, musically thrilling and it gives a generalized taste of the 60's. If you want it to be about character, about war, about love... you won't really find the movie answers satisfactorily. Each scene pops from one reference to 60's culture to the next and while the movie makes a couple brave statements, in particular the war, it is only reminiscent of the time (past and present) not the plot.
PERSONAL REVIEW TO FOLLOW
I enjoy The Beatles. I was eager to watch this movie, but did not get a chance to see it in theatres. I was not a "lucky one" who saw it on opening night amidst a large crowd of people just as excited. I watched this movie with a small group of friends which consisted of military brats, music aficionados and conservatives. Needless to say, the overall tenor of the group was not one of awe and love as the movie progressed. My personal outlook of the movie had to be developed after seeing it in it's entirety. After analyzing the music, the cinematography, the acting and the plot, I have to say that I did not enjoy the movie. I won't go as far as to say it was a waste of time, because the reasons why I disliked it make me think critically.
The music was enjoyable; I will not mind owning a copy of the soundtrack CD. My only pet peeve was the cover of "Let It Be" which is one of my favorite Beatles songs. I realize that it was not that the gospel music was bad it's just that for this song I am a purist. There were times that I felt the music forced the plot in some direction and had little motivation, however this will be discussed with my problems in the plot.
The cinematography was interesting and beautiful. I enjoyed the choreography and the part with Dr. Roberts(?) was mind-blowing. The scene "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" was weird like much of Moulin Rouge, but I am not really a fan of that type of manic scene.
The acting was, to be blunt, wooden. I did not realize how much so until I watch "Serenity" and saw the actress playing River Tam convey dialogue in just expression and the tilt of her head. I think this may have been the fault of the plot and not the actors themselves. Perhaps though the cinematography was the problem because it concentrated so much on the effects and not on the actors applying their craft, or it could be the music, which has so much meaning that the director didn't feel the need to concentrate on what the characters were feeling as they were singing.
Most of my distaste for the movie comes from the plot, or lack thereof. There was a story, an ending moral and themes throughout, but none of these were enough to keep me interested in what was going on. The music was the only thread of connection in the movie, not the plot. I did not care about Jude and Lucy's relationship. (In fact, I cared for about Sadie and JoJo than the 'main' characters.) And given the end of the story the director really wanted you to care and realize that 'All You Need is Love". Yet that theme was never really introduced fully until the end. The themes of fighting, radicalism, oppression, and chaos were stressed, but not love. Love was taken for granted in this movie by every character except Prudence and she disappeared and reappeared throughout the story. Prudence as a character was never explored, then again none of the characters were, but in her case it was particularly painful. She struggled with something (the word 'lesbian' is never explicitly mentioned, but it is understood by the audience) until she leaves the apartment for good and then she is magically well-adjusted. For someone who sang "I Want to Hold Your Hand", a portion of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and had a song ("Dear Prudence") sung to her, she was an enigma as a character. The scene "Strawberry Fields Forever" was forced. The strawberry comes into play later with Jude's painting, but the song itself is crammed into the movie for no express purpose. The theme of war and fighting against it were... odd. I can understand the sentiment of the feelings, but the entire build-up of Lucy's affair with the protest was negated when she saw her boss building bombs. It confused me as to what the message of this theme was supposed to be, unless it was to 'give up because both sides use violence'. Afterwards the entire subject is completely dropped. The scene of "Let It Be" was also one that confused and aggravated me. There were parallels drawn between the death of Lucy's first boyfriend and the young black boy, but the civil rights movement was never brought up again until it is mentioned that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
In essence, the characters were not explored, the scenes were rushed into songs and the important themes of the movie were foggy and confused.