What Sarah said:
I’m a bit hesitant about this one because I know that you aren’t a fan of the Beatles and this movie relies heavily on the music. Interestingly it doesn’t have much in the way of a script, instead relying more on the lyrics of the songs to move the plot along. Sometimes it feels like it struggles using this method but overall I think it makes for an interesting and enjoyable watch. I’m really interested to hear what you think.
Mike’s verdict:
There’s a reason I went more than a decade without watching Across the Universe; the Beatles. I have never understood the fanatical devotion that people still feel toward the band, and their music has never held any real meaning for me directly.
Of course, I can certainly appreciate the context in which they developed a following. Millions of mostly young people, dissatisfied with the lives of their parents, were searching for any way to be a part of the burgeoning counter-culture. They found the new sound easily digestible, comforting and rebellious – the three most important aspects of teen music in any time period. But being a rebel at the forefront of an already snow-balling cultural shift is easy, particularly when you stand to make a lot of money for a lot of people. The Beatles, for all the talk of counter-culture and rebellion, were actually quite palatable even to the parents that shook their heads and lamented the death of ‘proper’ music. Sure, the band members had the floppy hair, but they also wore suits. Their music didn’t sound like anything people had heard to that point, but the lyrics were sentimental and mostly inoffensive. The Beatles were exactly the right sound and look, at exactly the time it was needed – and they managed to ride the wave. Fine.
But that doesn’t explain why people still swoon over any mention of them today. Nor does it explain why the Beatles have managed to build such devotion from people who missed their hay-day. It’s as if kids of the 60s never managed to out-grow their bubble-gum pop phase, and the reverence has managed to be passed down like fancy cookware. Music should tell a story, and certainly the Beatles understood that. Unfortunately, their lyrics tell stories the way your grandfather does; half-asleep on the couch, fighting to remember the point he’s trying to make, distracted by a myriad of experiences that his failing memory can’t arrange in order. You listen intently hoping for some insightful advice about life, but at the end you’re left wondering if you missed something.
And that’s sort of how I feel about Across the Universe: a plainly ordinary film about romance on the back-drop of the Vietnam war. The 60s had a lot going on and the film tries to check all the nostalgia boxes it can cram in. To be fair, it succeeds in hitting most of the right notes, but it doesn’t manage to make them sound like music. The plot is scattered and none of the main characters are given the space to properly develop. The saddest part is that without the sudden and random bursts of Beatles songs, the film probably wouldn’t be notable at all.
Across the Universe isn’t a terrible movie. It’s light, entertaining and nothing to take too seriously; just like the band who inspired it.
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