Across the Universe

I took off early from work today to catch an early showing of "Across the Universe" at my favourite movie theatre and...

Wow.

Just. Wow.

It was absolutely fantastic.

Was it the greatest movie I've ever seen? No. Has it entered my top five? Oh I think it just might have done.

I can tell you one thing for certain: Jim Sturgess has just usurped the Number One slot on my fantasy list. Sorry Ryan Gosling. Go make a musical and come up with a sexy accent and then we'll talk. Maybe the two of you could fight for it. Mmmmm... now there's a picture...

I wish I could be more eloquent on the subject but really, oh my few but loyal readers, you should go see it for yourselves. It may not be for everyone, it's true, but...

If you like elaborately staged, visually stunning, colourful, fantastical, not-quite-linearly structured films; if you have the slightest interest in 60s counter culture; if you like the Beatles even a little bit... then you MUST go see this movie.

One thing I really enjoyed about this film was that there are lots of little subtleties that you can catch if you recognize them. I don't want to give away everything, but here's an example: There are two characters clearly modeled on Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix, and towards the end there is a double of Janis's Jaguar parked on the street.

Though I was irked that the L.A. Times referred to Bono's cameo as Ken Kesey/Timothy Leary hybrid. Sorry LA Times, but that was all Kesey. He's the one who drove around the country in a giant painted school bus--named Further and piloted by a sledgehammer wielding Neal Cassady, often without the aid of breaks--and gave people kool aid laced with LSD. Timothy Leary, on the other hand, was the one with the secluded mountain retreat, and comes to us in the form of Eddie Izzard's fabulous Mr. Kite. Or did you miss the bit where he plainly said "Tune in. Turn On. Drop Out."?

Sorry, tangent. But that does bring up the excellent point that there were several notable celebrity cameos--with Bono pulling off a convincing American accent and surprisingly not annoying the shit out of me as he usually does--but the stars are all virtual unknowns. Evan Rachel Wood would be the closest to a "celebrity," but even she is fairly under the radar. She's not Lindsay Lohan (thank god). And they are all fabulous. Not a weak link in the bunch, which is difficult to pull off!

So yes, in conclusion, do yourself a big favour and see this movie. At the very least you'll be humming Beatles tunes for a week. I actually walked out of the theatre and directly next door to Borders and purchased the soundtrack. Not going to listen to it until tomorrow, however. For now, I'm just basking in the afterglow...