Review of Across the Universe (2007) by Ross W — 29 May 2011

This movie is certainly not without its flaws. I find little reason to care about the personal struggles of the characters, simply because we know very little about what makes them tick, laugh, hurt, and scream- nearly everything shown is from a detached and sometimes opaque emotional lens. Where the film does succeed is exploring the emotions of a generation in the midst of perhaps the most socially turbulent era in modern American history. This is done through the music of the Beatles, who were perhaps the figureheads of the love revolution. At times, this direction shows flashes of brilliance that redeem the movie overall. Towards the latter third of the movie, however, the soundtrack is so exhaustive of the band's catalogue and neglectful of the storyline that the viewer finds himself inattentive at best, and itching for the credits roll at worst.

The real strength of the movie comes from the point it is trying to make (or accidentally farts out, if you prefer). The emotions and mindsets of the counterculture are so vivid that one can almost feel the horror of the Vietnam War that dangles over everyone's head if it has not already claimed them, and the rage towards the government encloses the conditions that produced it: desperation and empowerment, idealism and cynicism, hope and frustration. And at the end, when the banners have been torn down and the fight to destroy evil has failed as it always must, the film offers the consolation that the defeated may rest in the solace of their most obvious ally: love; human connection.

All in all, the film's conclusion is mortally wounded by the falseness of its characters and a soundtrack so everlasting that it seems to be more of a setlist than a musical novel, but the high points are stunning and save this movie from the disaster that might otherwise have befallen it.