Across The Universe

When I heard that Julie Taymor (Frida, Titus) had directed a film taking place in the 1960’s set to the music of the Beatles I was anticipating great things. The opportunity for Taymor to bring her unique visual style to such a vibrant historical period as well as the freedom provided via access to the Beatles back catalogue could have led to an amazing film experience. Unfortunately, the directionless and confused, Across The Universe is unsatisfying fluff.

The film centres around a Liverpool shipyard worker, named Jude (Jim Sturgess) who goes to America to find his father. He becomes entwined in the lives of Princeton drop-out Max (Joe Anderson) and his sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). The film follows their adventures as they deal with life in 1960’s New York and encounter an array of counter-culture figures.

The problem that emerges in Across The Universe is that rather than focusing on any kind of storyline, the only thing really keeping you watching the film is the music. That said, the musical numbers, while often lots of fun, do tend to turn the film into a mish mash of visual bombardment and distract from what thin thread of storyline there is. The over-ambition portrayed by these lavish numbers is echoed in the decision to typecast each character into a recognizable mould in an attempt to span the variety of 1960’s landmark events. We have the idealistic war activist, the artistic dropout, the youth sent unwillingly to Vietnam, the Janis Joplin-esque musician and the list goes on. Additionally, for a movie which attempts to encompass so much of this era what is noticeable are those things which are excluded. The references to the civil war movement are fleeting and seem thrown in at the last minute, especially a scene set during the Detroit riots which appears to come from nowhere and has little or no impact on the film as a whole. This is something which occurs throughout the movie. Characters and situations are revealed and then left for dead or given a brief and unsatisfying wrap up before we move on to the next cliché. What we are left with are visual cliff notes that exist purely on the surface.

It is however a largely attractive surface. While some of the scenes suffer from visuals that do not seem to have any real context or purpose, there are moments of extreme beauty and coupled with the soundtrack these elements make the film an enjoyable if forgettable experience.

Those scenes that do resonate do so purely because of the excitement and talent of two of the lead characters. Jim Sturgess as Jude and Joe Anderson as Max steal every scene they are in and manage to give renewed energy to classic Beatles tunes. Sturgess in particular lends an authenticity to his role while Anderson provides a playful yet grounded portrayal of a directionless young man. It is a shame that these obviously talented newcomers are not given much to work with in the way of character and storyline. Evan Rachel Wood as the love interest is given the worst role of all but does her best with it. However, there is not much she can do to give life to this character - an anti-war idealist who you may recognise from any number of films or telemovies made about this era.

Across The Universe is a film musical that is made for the stage. The musical numbers, which on screen are used in lieu of a strong storyline and in many cases, interrupt the narrative flow, would work much better in a theatre setting as would many of the visual concepts. Everything about this movie is over the top - too much singing, too many characters, too many disparate visual effect and too many distracting cameos (from Eddie Izzard, Bono and Joe Cocker among others). It appears to be a case of extreme overcompensation to make up for the lack of cohesive narrative. Across The Universe is at heart an extended video clip, it amounts in the end to lighthearted and mindless entertainment which provides a few spectacular moments amidst the chaos.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

After a brief hiatus in which the author of this blog relocated from Sydney to New York City, FRAME BY FRAME is back in action. Keep watching!

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper) and championed by Brad Pitt (who plays James) is a film that could have been so much more. A western that tries to tap into the psychological spaces that can be found in such classics of the genre as High Noon and the work of Sergio Leone, Jesse James fails to engage with its audience. Vast shots and long close ups do not necessarily equal artistic integrity, despite the filmmaker’s obvious assumptions otherwise. While the film looks beautiful, it ultimately occupies very little emotional space and is, like the title, much too long. At 2hrs and 40 minutes the film attempts a poetry-like expression and yet what it comes up with is repetitiveness and constant half-baked explanations for the actions of its protagonists.

The shame is that there was so much to work with both in terms of those involved in the films’ creation and in the story itself. The insanity of Jesse James and more importantly the strange hero-worshipping character of Robert Ford are potentially fascinating elements which are paid lip service at best. For all its posturing and attempts at getting to the dark heart of the matter, the film fails to transcend from a pretty façade to the black underbelly of psychotic relations that is supposed to exist between James and Ford. It is disappointing that Dominik’s follow up to the excellent film, Chopper, is such a let down.

While Casey Affleck does in fact do a superb job as Ford, there is not much he can do to transform a dull script and a long running time. Additionally, there is very little chemistry between him and Pitt, with Pitt seeming like he is just going through the motions and appearing particularly wooden throughout.

While The Assassination of Jesse James has a proven director and bankable stars, this is one film that would have benefited from some severe re-writes and more forceful direction. This film could have been a dynamic exploration of the unbalanced and shifting power-relations between two very different men, driven by completely disparate forces. Instead the audience is handed a by the numbers period piece that sticks to the surface while alluding all the time to depths it can’t quite reach.