Taymor also tries to have it both ways when it comes to the film’s tone, as she skirts the edge between realism and surrealism a little too closely. Musicals are inherently unrealistic—as a general rule, people do not break into song and dance in public as a way of expressing their emotions. This is one of the many contrivances that moviegoers had to accept over the medium’s long history.
However, musicals ultimately fall under the same rules as fantasy or science-fiction—if they establish their internal rules and stick with them, suspending your disbelief really isn’t that hard. When looked at objectively, the idea that two warring street-gangs would settle their differences through dance is pretty absurd. But because of the tone established (and maintained) by West Side Story , the audience buys it.
The over-all tone in Across the Universe is somber and realistic, so that when the song and dance sequences come, they stick out as the silly contrivances they truly are. Bono’s psychedelic turn as Dr. Robert and the deliciously surreal “Mr.
Kite” sequence are mostly excusable because they can be passed off as drug-induced hallucinations. Other parts don’t fare as well. “I’ve Just Seen a Face” is a fun, super-choreographed cheese-fest that beautifully recalls the classic musicals of yesteryear.
However, in the context of the film, it comes off as ridiculous. Taken on their own, these set-pieces are as imaginative and amazing as I’d hoped. But a series of music videos doesn’t make for much of a movie.
That’s why Across the Universe is the most frustrating type of film: the whole is somehow less than the sum of its often-brilliant parts.
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