‘Across the Universe’ affirms the power of great movie musicals

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007)

I’m a sucker for great movie musicals.

There’s something about watching a film in which the story’s main characters suddenly burst into beautifully crafted songs expressing broad, sweeping emotions that they otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t express.

Unfortunately, the golden age of movie musicals is long gone. While musicals still flourish on Broadway, they’ve all but vanished from the big screen – save for short-lived revivals of the genre that sometimes produce one or two memorable films.

Recent Broadway hits have, indeed, spawned great film musical comedies, including “Hairspray” and “The Producers.” And word has it that Oscar-winning British director Tom Hooper is planning a screen version of the award-winning musical “Les Miserables.”

Among the few recent musicals to grace the screen is also one of the most unusual and one of my favorites – “Across the Universe” from 2007, stage director Julie Taymor’s imaginative, original musical that uses classic songs from the Beatles’ catalog to tell a moving love story.

Taymor helped create the successful and award-winning Broadway version of Disney’s “The Lion King.” For her third motion picture, Taymor tapped into the same imaginative drive to create a wholly original and entertaining film.

Taymor, who co-wrote the screenplay, uses more than 30 Beatles songs to tell the story of a young British shipyard worker, Jude, who travels to the United States to find his long lost American father. Instead, Jude falls madly in love with an American girl, Lucy. The story is set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1960s, the Vietnam War and peace riots.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Taymor easily, artfully and seamlessly incorporates such Beatles classics as “All My Loving,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Let It Be” and “Come Together” into her film. Just like a traditional musical, each song’s lyrics smoothly and believably move the plot forward.

“Against the Universe” could have been a disastrous repeat of the 1978 bomb “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” – a supposed musical that used songs from two Beatles albums to tell a silly, pointless, cartoonish tale.

“Sgt. Pepper” was produced by Robert Stigwood, the man behind “Saturday Night Fever” and the film version of “Grease.” His Beatles musical doesn’t even approach the quality and level of his other films.

In fact, it’s a downright embarrassment featuring dreadful performances by then-rising pop star Peter Frampton and disco kings The Bee Gees. The songs are bloated and overproduced; the story makes no sense at all.

Taymor, on the other hand, adopts a different approach.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Rather than a fantasy tale, Taymor sets her film in the 1960s. She reinvents and re-orchestrates many Beatles songs so they enhance the plot rather than stop it cold in its tracks.

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” becomes a song about unrequited love. “If I Fell” becomes a deliberate statement from Lucy as she realizes she is falling in love with Jude. “Something” is a touching love song Jude sings quietly as he watches Lucy sleep.  And “Let It Be,” one of the highlights of the film, becomes a joyous, reflective Gospel-tinged number honoring the death of a young boy.

By the time Taymor caps the film with a rooftop rendition of “All You Need Is Love,” it’s hard not to have a dry eye.

“Across the Universe” is filled with strong performances by a young and talented cast, including Jim Sturges as Jude and Evan Rachel Wood as Lucy. But above all, Taymor’s film reminds us about the timeless beauty of the Beatles’ best work. Taymor and her film show how compositions that seemed like simple pop songs have infinitely more depth, more meaning and more emotion than you ever thought.

“Across the Universe” is available for purchase or rental on DVD and high-definition Blu-ray disc; the Blu-ray video transfer and audio are reference quality. If you are interested in purchasing the film, you can often find the DVD or Blu-ray discounted significantly below the $19.99 retail price at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and other retailers. The film is rated PG-13 and includes nudity, violence and drug use.