Director Julie Taymor’s "Across the Universe" is a magical mystery tour de force through the 1960s featuring the melodic music of The Beatles and a strident salute to love, liberation, and creative expression that will take your breath away.
Drawing upon every visual resource in her rich directorial palette – after all, she knows film ("Titus," "Frida"), she knows opera ("The Magic Flute"), she knows theatre ("The Lion King") – Taymor paints the screen with panache and joyful verve. The eye is delighted and, since the whole spectacle is powered by 33 classic Beatles songs, the ear does pretty well too. The result is a movie musical like none before.
Jude the Liverpool lad (Jim Sturgess) falls for Lucy the American lass (Evan Rachel Wood). He quits the grey shipyards to cross the pond, she leaves a privileged family to find herself, and, amid the hubbub of New York City, their love affair plays out against the social/sexual/political swirl of the sixties. The full range of that swirl is set straight from the opening frames when, in tender close- up on an English beach, a heart-struck kid sings the plaintive strains of "Girl" while, a continent away, all "Helter Skelter" breaks loose. The sequence morphs from winsome to frenzied without missing a beat – already, the canvas is stretched broadly and Taymor’s brush is poised.
"Across the Universe" isn’t just another movie about the momentous events of the ’60s, but rather a valentine to the era’s artistic and idealistic spirit as symbolized by the music of Lennon and McCartney.
All you need is love – for The Beatles, for psychedelic visuals, for ideas about being young in the ‘60s – to fully enjoy “Across the Universe.” It is a hugely ambitious musical that works brilliantly, thanks to strong performances, a fantastic script, terrifically integrated songs, and Taymor’s inspired direction.
The most unique and visceral film you will see all year, it is rated PG-13 and has a running time of two hours, 11 minutes.
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''Across the Universe'' Premieres at...
Date and Time
Friday Jan 4, 2008 Tuesday Jan 8, 2008
7 p.m. on January 4th, 5th, 7th & 8th
2 p.m. on January 6th
Location
Smith Opera House82 Seneca St.Geneva, NY
Fees/Admission
$5 general admission$3 students & senior citizens
Website
Contact Information
315-781-LIVE (5483) or toll-free 866-355-LIVE (5483)
