More than anything else, "Across the Universe" is a testament to the power of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting
skills. The film is a full-fledged musical, structured in the classic boy-meets-girl style, with all the lyrics coming from Beatles songs. What's extraordinary is that the words to these 40-year-old pop songs fit perfectly, no alterations necessary. The melodies, so beautiful in their effortless complexity, are rendered even more potent when they're put into the context of a love story. "All you need is love" always just seemed like a nice sentiment. Now it feels like an unassailable truth. Yet despite being peppered with Beatles allusions both subtle and obvious, the film is not just a frivolous tribute to the Fab Four. It stands on its own as a uniquely artistic view of young love in the turbulent 1960s, with songs from that era that happen to fit the story and that also happen to have been written by Lennon and McCartney (and, OK, sometimes Harrison and Starr, too). It also benefits from director Julie Taymor's imagination and vision, which would have ensured a memorable, eye-catching product regardless of who provided the soundtrack. Like the Beatles themselves, the film starts in the pubs of Liverpool and ends with a rooftop performance. In another sublime parallel, the songs and situations start simple and grow increasingly psychedelic and metaphor-heavy as the film progresses, with some parts halfway through that are completely whacked-out.
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