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'Music's the only thing that makes sense in the world...' - Jojo

For those of you who keep saying, music is your life, this is one movie then that you should not dare miss.

Across the Universe can be classified as a musical because it uses the lyrics of the songs and interpretative dance to tell the story in verse but it is also the anti-musical because it uses both striking or contrasting visuals and songs from The Beatles. When this screenplay was written, it had The Beatles literally crawling all over it.

The story may be a bit sparse, being that dialogue is either sung or used to fill in the gaps between songs, and characters are hardly ever introduced properly or in an unorthodox manner. However, the ingenius element in the movie is not the fact that it was inspired by music from the Beatles, but rather its ability to insert the lyrics of the songs right into what is happening at that particular moment in the story.

Like when Lucy and Jude's parrallel lives begin the story, they say farewell to their loves... Jude on the boat singing "and then while I'm away, I'll write home everyday, and I'll send all my loving to you..." or when Jude first meets Max initiating the segway "...What would you do if I sang out of tune..." as the intro to "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends" filling in as the narrative for their wild night out.

Even the names of the characters themselves are from the songs or references to Beatles lore... Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) are quite obvious, but then there's Max, Prudence, Sadie, Jojo and more.

INGENIOUS I SAY!

Needless to say, there were tons and tons of moments in the film where my hair stood on end, most notable for me was the "Let it Be" sequence. Movies hardly ever give me the chills, but their rendition of this classic will forever be in my mind.

And let's not forget the cameos: Joe Cocker coming in with Come Together as JoJo gets out of the subway, and Bono as Dr. Robert. Brilliant!

Even if some may complain that, in most cases they're not really singing, the fact that the movie is such an escape while all the while using lyrics from the Beatles to tell the story, should be enough to placate the hardcore fans and musical geeks alike.

In sum, this little masterpiece strengthens the fact that the music of the Beatles is timeless and quintessential. Again, a must see for Beatlemaniacs and music fans alike. A movie like this only rarely comes along, like a distant passing celestial body, that can be seen Across the Universe.



Oh and as an added bonus, Prudence is played by TV Carpio, who is half Pinay! ^_^;; Galing!


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