CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 09/14/07

Helter Skelter

By peter clines

Across the Universe

Screenplay by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais
Story by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais & Julie Taymor (also directed)

Jude (Jim Strugess) is a young welder from Liverpool who comes to America in the early '60s to find his father, and along the way gets a best friend in Max (Joe Anderson) and a true love in Max's sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). The trio moves to New York, takes up in a huge communal apartment, and gets caught up in the blossoming revolutions of art, politics, and rock and roll, all set to the music of the Beatles. It's probably worth noting that writer-director Julie Taymor (Frida) takes full credit (if credit is the word) for Across the Universe, and the screenwriting team of Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais (Flushed Away) don't even get a passing nod in the extensive press kit. While some of these song interpretations are clever and well staged, for the most part it's like watching a homemade YouTube music video where the characters and actions only vaguely relate to the lyrics. The script and story are enslaved to this gimmick, and many of the musical numbers are shoehorned into scenes and situations that just feel awkward. At one point the interpretation even flips halfway through a song, as "I Want You" starts as an ominous, percussive theme for the military draft board, then slips back into a soft, poignant song of unrequited love from roommate Prudence (T.V. Carpio). The actors are great, the camera work is beautiful, and the songs are still classics, but they never mesh and the music ends up as more of a distracting element than an integral one. Across the Universe so desperately wants to be an Americanized, counterculture version of Moulin Rouge, but in truth it's barely on par with the Bee Gees' 1978 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Across the Universe
Sony Pictures
Rated PG-13; 131 min.

Buy tickets now

Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

Across the Universe courtesy Sony Pictures

From the Trenches
Working screenwriters discuss in their own words a particular aspect of screenwriting, from the mechanics of writing to the personal and professional impact that writing has had on their lives. > VIEW ARCHIVE

The Big Picture

Features that cover all aspects of screenwriting, from our "Seven Best" lists to analysis of old favorites and new classics. > VIEW ARCHIVE

Weekend Read
Film, book, web site and technology reviews from a writer’s perspective. How can these items help a writer on his or her journey, or make that journey more enjoyable? > VIEW ARCHIVE

DVD Review of the Day
DVD reviews from a writer’s point of view. What aspects of this script and features of this DVD illuminate the writing, development, and storytelling process? > VIEW ARCHIVE