Rainbow Girl.

Head over to PopMatters and read my review for Mildred Pierce, one of the reasons why TV is seriously threatening cinema in terms of artistic value.

Short Takes: "The Ides of March" and "Rampart".

Oren Moverman was clever enough to cast his The Messenger star Woody Harrelson in Rampart: a character study that seems more obsessed with turning Woody's character into an iconic movie villain, than to actually study his character...

Set in 1999, just after the Rampart controversy sent the LAPD down a hole, the film has Harrelson play Dave Brown; a corrupt cop who has his way regardless of who he has to step on. This makes him a true movie monster and presents Harrelson with the difficult task of adding a human layer to a character that could easily become caricature. This he does beautifully; whether he's sucking on a woman's foot, beating a handicapped man or stealing from thieves, he adds a certain something that gives us a better idea of who this man might be and why he's struggling so much to preserve his decadent lifestyle.

What he doesn't give us, and this might be the screenplay's fault, is a look at what might've turned him into such a despicable creature. It's obviously not necessary to have something like this spelled out to you in a movie, but every character in Rampart feels like it was created specifically for the scenes they're in.

Woody does his best to elevate the movie from being a scenery-chewing fest but the truth is that all the rage in Dave results more frustrating than compelling.

One has to wonder why did George Clooney decide to direct and star in The Ides of March when he could've easily just ran for office. This film adaptation of Beau Willimon's Farragut North (which itself had been loosely inspired by Howard Dean's 200a campaign) works on an almost superficial level because it has a clear agenda, which doesn't allow its viewers to "think".
Clooney stars as Mike Morris, a Democratic candidate in the middle of a primary election that could have him become the next presidential candidate. Ryan Gosling plays Stephen Meyers, his loyal and cinematically idealistic junior campaign manager. When Meyers learns that Morris has a dark secret involving - of all things - an intern (played by Evan Rachel Wood) he has to decide whether to be loyal to his employer or to his morality. Which one wins isn't really important as much as it is to see Clooney execute a fine campaign ad for himself by reminding us that he will be the kind of man who, as his character says, believes in the religion of the US constitution.
By making his "villain" a Democrat, Clooney reassures us that no political affiliations will stand in the way of the common good and it's obvious that he feels best identified with Meyers (if he'd been younger he probably would've played him). Even if the film is extremely dull, Clooney has some truly inspired directorial moments (stylistic bookends, clever visual tricks, superb casting, you must see Marisa Tomei giving a delicious star turn here!) but more often than not he foregoes them to chase clichés that would work best in the insipid All the King's Men remake from a few years back, too bad he let his political interest come between him and the religion of filmmaking.

Grades:
Rampart **
The Ides of March **

Emmy Fashion.

As usual we won't bother with Emmy discussions (although yay Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow!) so let's move to the only relevant thing about these TV awards, the fashion!

After the feathered disaster she tried to pull off in last year's show, Kristen Wiig was effectively stunning in this chocolate Zac Posen gown. The color and cut are perfect for her! Why couldn't the Best Comedy Actress nominees learn from her?

Other than Amy Poehler and Edie Falco, who were sartorial perfection (even if Edie has squeezed this cut too much), the others were just so dull. Laura Linney, seriously, I was rooting for you to win for The Big C but I'm glad you lost just because this dress is just so argh!

Elizabeth Moss has done the nude thing a gazillion times before but there is no arguing with this stunning Marchesa design. The fit is perfect, the simple makeup and hair are quite adequate but I wonder why is it that she always looks so much older? I can totally see Helen Mirren being more youthful in this.

Oh Paz de la Huerta, you are quite something, aren't ya?

Julie Bowen confessed how special she felt about wearing Oscar de la Renta and well, she should! This is the sexiest look she's pulled off in any red carpet! 

Yow-fucking-za! Poor Sofía Vergara might not get too much credit for her tremendous comedienne abilities (people still think it's all about the accent) but she gets her due with clothes. This stunning Vera wang coral dress more than makes up for the tacky yellow creation she chose last year. Gotta love how she let her hair down and recalls Rita Hayworth.

Say whatever you want but Kelly Osbourne rocked the hell out of this J. Mendel gown. Remember when she was a goth rock heiress with pink hair? We've come a long way and good for her!

Aubrey Plaza is the epitome of cute in this custom made Juan Carlos Obando white dress. The hair is lovely, the simple makeup works wonders and those bracelets give her a true wonder woman edge.

The always lovely Jayma Mays pulls off this Zuhair Murad pink concoction in a way Zooey Deschanel couldn't pull hers off (TOO princessy!) the layers and delicate ruffles could've been extremely tacky but the joyous redhead gives them a pinch of sass to make 'em work.

Dianna Agron was stunning last year in Oscar de la Renta which only makes this weird Roksanda Ilincic gown a weirder choice. Sure she wants to play the "I'm young but can dress up like a grown up" game, but

where last year's lace creation was timeless, this one makes her look like Elizabeth Moss' mom. She's hiding the boobs, covering the neck and the cut makes her look as big as Melissa McCarthy. Odd choice...

Armana Privé makes dresses that work just as well on red carpets and during space travel. Sometimes their flashy, usually stunning creations make your jaw drop to the flloor, however in the case of Julianna Margulies, they make us wonder two things: has Julianna been watching Frida too much and will tiny Lady Gagas hatch out of those crystal eggs attached to her bodice? 

A few weeks ago, Nathaniel and I held a battle of sorts, between Veda and Mildred Pierce. Opinions were torn on said occasion - apparently people dig Kate's rigid structural touches while I favored Evan Rachel Wood's adventure sense - and now we are given the perfect way to hold an ultimate showdown. Both ladies have gone with the same designer: in this case Elie Saab. While Kate went for the same red everyone else was wearing (and loosened up her hair obtaining a fresher spirit), her onscreen daughter went for a dramatic black siren gown, complete with a retro do and beautiful smoky eyes. I'm sorry Mildred but Veda has once again upstaged you. Both look astonishing and while Kate is beautiful, Evan remains iconic.

The retro beading and the draped cut of Christina Hendricks' dress totally reminded me of the deco decadence of Boardwalk Empire. The curvaceous beauty is stunning in this custom made Johanna Johnson dress.

If you weren't tired of Claire Danes and her Templen Grandin shtick already, you should've seen all the tweets that mentioned it yesterday...anyway, I too am tired of Danes but this Oscar de la Renta was just too pretty to pass up. The mosaic-like design might've been too Miss Universe but Claire pulls it off quite beautifully. No?

The most controversial look of the night came at the service of the amazing, Emmy winning Gwyneth Paltrow. While some found her midriff baring Pucci to be quite tacky and way too much for an awards show (have they forgotten the white one that showed her butt last year?) I thought it was an astonishing bold choice. When I saw it, it reminded me of a sexy version of the Oscar de la Renta Tina Fey wore last year and as the night passed it had flashes (no pun intended) of Nicole Kidman's wonderful gowns in the last part of Moulin Rouge! 

The see-through-ness might've been too much for some (I saw some people calling it offensive, yet overall she managed to class it up with simple hair, gorgeous makeup and effortless charm. Where do you stand on this Pucci choice?

The Conspirator **½

Director: Robert Redford

Cast: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Justin Long

Evan Rachel Wood, Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell

Tom Wilkinson, Norman Reedus, Alexis Bledel

Kevin Kline, Danny Huston

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was undoubtedly one of the seminal events of the nineteenth century and history has made sure that we learn as much about Honest Abe as we can. His life has been the center of books, films and urban legends all of which culminate in the night where he was murdered by actor John Wilkes Booth.

Very few times have we been informed of what came to be afterwards and how one story in particular would shape the way of legal battles up to this very day. That story would be Mary Surratt's, played with fierce serenity by Robin Wright, a woman who was tried for conspiring in the assassination of President Lincoln.

While the story is supposed to concentrate on Surratt, director Robert Redford takes a more didactic approach and centers on her defending lawyer Fredrick Aiken (McAvoy), a Civil War veteran who's appointed by the army to defend someone everyone thinks is guilty.

The film deftly deals with the way in which public opinion can shape the outcome of a trial but more than that it leads us to wonder when and where is it right to bend the law, or if we even should consider doing it at all.

Redford, always the political instructor, makes the film about the way in which the army shattered the law in order to put on a charade to find themselves a scapegoat, Mary's guilt or innocence are never really on trial in the film (anyone watching the movie will think something entirely different) what the movie examines is the inconsistency with which governments provide so-called justice.

Unlike most of the films directed by Redford this one conceals its liberal agenda under a more restrained, almost theatrical style that might appeal those from dissenting political parties, as such it's a movie much more entertaining than say the disastrous Lions for Lambs however in delivering his essay Redofrd has once again forgotten to make his characters human.

He uses them to portray archetypes, we have the heroic Aiken, the villainous prosecutor (Huston) and he even gives Aiken a virginal love interest (Bledel of course) who juxtaposed with Surratt's more vamp-like daughter (none other than Wood) act like the angel and devil figures on the good lawyer's shoulders.

Props should be given to the always fascinating Wright who infuses Mary with a serene knowledge the rest of the film lacks. Redford doesn't give her character much to do but Wright taps into something primal and by the end of the film has evoked maternal love, demonic possession and manipulation with elegance and grace. Watch the way in which she can break your heart by remaining silent or the hatred she can invoke to her eyes. She makes us wish the rest of the movie lived up to her brilliant portrayal.

Oh Mother.

The best thing about watching Mildred Pierce was of course Kate Winslet. Who cares if her affectedness at first resembled Olivia de Havilland doing a Joan Crawford impression? By the second hour of the miniseries she had made this woman her own.

I read somewhere that Winslet had a perfect face for suffering (she also has a perfect face for sex/love scenes but that's for another day...) and as each minute of the series went by, I couldn't help but wholeheartedly agree with this thought.

Of course, I love Kate and I resented how much the actresses who played Veda Pierce made her suffer (Evan Rachel Wood I see you...) but Kate is such a dignified sufferer!

With that in mind, I give you my favorite ten "Mildred is in pain" moments. She truly should be eligible for martyrdom.

10. Mildred remembers her dead child (and in retrospect probably wishes she'd been alive and Veda gone for good)

9. Mildred discovers Veda is a ho.

8. Mildred discovers Veda hates her (for the umpteenth time! Sister truly has some sort of ADD when it comes to her demonic daughter)

7. Mildred discovers she's always chasing rainbows.

Speaking of which, did anyone else think that Evan Rachel Wood would make the perfect actress for whenever they make a biopic of Florence + the Machine?

6. Mildred rekindles with Veda. I loved how the hair department changed Kate's do and aged her effortlessly with a little more hair here and there. I don't think I've seen such flawless makeup and costume design in any movie in a very long time.

5. Mildred finds out why Veda loves Monty so much (this reaction scene alone should give Winslet the Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG this year).

I easily could've done a top ten featuring all the evil stares Veda gives Mildred, but I honestly have never hated a character more than I do her. The very idea of what she represents makes me want to call Wood's character from True Blood so she will kidnap Veda and turn her into her eternal slave.

4. Mildred finds her voice by going all Ursula on Veda's ass. If you haven't seen it I won't spoil it.

Yet again, if you haven't seen it, what the hell are you waiting for?

3. "To hell with her".

'Nuff said.

2. This was inarguably my favorite shot in the entire miniseries. For starters I had no idea Todd Haynes shot such great sex scenes. Most of his films are so asexual, even Velvet Goldmine's extravagant orgies and Poison's homoeroticism feel too much like Jarman-esque aesthetic experiments done for the sake of art. The love scenes between Mildred and Monty though are astonishingly hot!

This list is about Mildred suffering and you might be wondering what the hell does this have to do with any pain. Well, I'll pull out the snob card and resort to Hermann Hesse, who in one of my favorite books said that, and I'm paraphrasing, the facial expressions achieved during orgasm are only similar to those made by someone on the instants before their death.

In this particular scene, Mildred's surrender to Monty's voraciousness kills her. She never goes back from this moment and everything spirals down for her. I love how Haynes and DP Ed Lachman shot this, so it seems that the two people have become one. This notion that Mildred can only beat Monty if she owns him (and therefore he becomes just a body whose head has been swallowed by her vagina) gives the whole series a fascinating subtext about the evolution and mishaps of feminism in the face of a mostly male world.

Isn't the whole point of the series that Mildred fails as a woman because she can not fulfill her role of mother and wife?

1. Winslet is magical in this scene where she listens to Veda's singing for the very first time. everything about her face is perfection and even if she borrows the hand gestures from the "Meryl Streep School of Gasping", she is extremely moving.

How she manages to display fear, tenderness, resentment, love and joy at the same time? Who knows. This scene makes a case for why Winslet is one of the finest actresses of all time.

What were your thoughts on Mildred Pierce? Do you think Winslet is the real deal?

Oh I Missed it So...

"Hell hath no fury like a vampire queen broke."

Whatever Works ***

Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson
Ed Begley Jr., Henry Cavill, Christopher Evan Welch, Olek Krupa

Some find Woody Allen's kind of filmmaking to be exasperating and annoying; stuck in the "neurotic, snobbishly humble Jew" part for times immemorial, he's what you can call an acquired taste.
Same goes for Larry David, who with his arrogantly neurotic comedy has become one of the most polarizing figures in entertainment history.
What happens then when you put these two together? Even more, what happens when the egregious David takes on the "Woody Allen role" in a movie?
You would have expected a clashing of egos (and it feels like that for the first awkward half hour), but before soon the two have managed to make something imperfectly perfect out of Boris Yellnikoff: the suicidal physicist at the center of "Whatever Works".
While Allen's male leads usually fear the world, Boris plain hates it. He goes on calling children "inchworms" and delivers complicated insults that boggle instead of offending.
The man even hates sex.
He manages to live because he seems to enjoy finding more reasons why he shouldn't be alive and his theory is that instead of looking for meaning you should just go with whatever works.
One night going home he encounters the waifish Melodie St. Ann Celestine (Woods), a Southern girl who just arrived to New Yok City, who asks him for something to eat and a place to stay the night.
She ends up staying a month and marrying Boris.
Their marriage however isn't born out of romantic movie love, Boris himself says he wants to attempt a "Pygmalion", while Melodie seems pleased with the notion that she's married to a genius.
She begins to talk, act and think different, "you have ideas of your own?" he asks in disbelief.
"Just a couple" she answers with the Southern modesty she was raised on.
Things start getting complicated when her parents arrive looking for her. Marietta (Clarkson), her mother, is a church going conservative who wanted her daughter to marry someone like George Bush.
Her father John (Begley Jr.) is the kind of man for whom a rifle is as sacred as his Bible. The two of them will be transfixed by New York City in unexpected ways and it's through them that the movie achieves a most positive, almost hopeful, note.
Allen doesn't take advantage of them to exalt the transforming power of his beloved city, instead he turns them into lovely fablesque creations that need to be so corny because "sometimes a cliché is finally the best way to make one's point."
This is by no means an attempt at realism, but a film made by someone who just doesn't have the heart to be too cruel.
You will find vintage Allen; some of the dialogues are hilariously cerebral beyond words and the performances are magnificent.
Even David who comes off as someone you're dying to hate at the beginning, grows a sort of Allen heart through which he exposes his vulnerabilities.
He often addresses the audience, in a move that not always works like it should, trying to explain his tragic views on life and at one point rightfully asks us "why do you wanna hear all this?".
Ironically, it's with this self examination that the movie steers us towards Melodie, Marietta and John, who become the most fascinating characters.
Clarkson is a scene stealer, bringing her earthy sexiness and effortless sophistication to someone that might've been played like a parody and Begley does wonders as Allen tries to explore with him the one issue he's never been able to tackle accurately in his movies.
Then there's Wood who selfconsciously starts playing Melodie like a typical bimbo, only to turn her into a fascinating young woman at odds with what she believes, what she believed and what she believes she believes.
With her, Allen makes the crazy marriage seem like the most normal thing in the world, "I don't like normal, healthy men, I like you" she says (which might remind you of Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's") and she means it.
And once she understands that each of us must make the best out of what we get,she channels Mariel Hemingway in "Manhattan" and delivers a lovely statement that makes us see that for all the theories we make about love; whether they be physical, chemical, spiritual or mental, the truth is it's still the greatest mystery in the universe.
Boris might not get it, Allen might not get it, Melodie herself might not know what she's talking about, but with her the movie turns its bitter outlook upside down and delivers the refreshingly hopeful plunges into the dark Allen has always been so good at.
Because hey, it just ain't Allen if it doesn't break your heart.

Most Wickedly Delicious Surprise Casting In Ages.

...if there is any justice she'll be a shoe-in for a Guest Actress in a Drama Emmy next year.

Oscars 08: Best Dressed

1. Penélope Cruz
The moment I saw her on the red carpet she just took my breath away.
I loved the way she looked like a bride or a queen about to be crowned and instantly knew her dress just had to be vintage.
I found out until much later that it indeed it was vintage and Balmain nonetheless. Watching how gracious and beautiful she was when she won the Oscar I had a sudden epiphany (at least fashion and Oscar wise).


'Nuff said.


2. Anne Hathaway
Shirley MacLaine herself said that we love Anne as a princess, and a modern one she was in her stunning Aramni Privé white dress with crystal appliqués. It would've been great to see her win if only to see the way she would've matched that gorgeous Swarovski curtain above the stage.
Her best accesory? As always her million dollar smile.

3. Marion Cotillard
Last year she rocked in an unexpected Gaultier mermaid dress, this year she rocks once more in black and blue Dior gown, with a Tinkerbell-ish top that gives path to a risqué skirt with almost transparent folds that makes the Oscar winner look like a punk princess.

4. Kate Winslet
The first time Oscar winner didn't stray too far from what she'd been doing all season long.
And too far is the key part here. Her Yves Saint Laurent dark blue and black dress looks like a variation on what she wore to the Golden Globes in January, with some extra black lace.
Classy and simple yes, but way too safe for an actress known for her wild characters.

5. Halle Berry
This is how you do black and gold Beyoncé...

6. Sarah Jessica Parker
Poor SJP has been cursed with fashion double duty. She played Carrie Bradshaw, a modern Holly Golightly inspired fashionista, for more than five years in "Sex and the City" and outside the show she became a fashion icon herself.
So she must juggle constantly and fend Carrie/Sarah comparisons. With her mint Dior she brings the two women together. The top with the NYC retro, deco art and unusual belt is all Carrie, but from the waist down, the delicate tulle and ample skirt are as deliciously sweet as only Parker can be.

7. Nicole Kidman
One could almost swear Nicole Kidman has worn this dress before (that baby blue YSL from 2004 which also included feathers if I can recall) but then again she rarely varies her column with a detail look.
She might've looked a bit uncomfortable on stage, but after a few seconds she was absolutely radiant.

8. Tilda Swinton
Once again wearing Lanvin (after last year's black ensemble which seemed to be made out of liquid silk) the iconic Tilda Swinton pushes the envelope by wearing two similar pieces in different colors. Her blonde hair and ruffly, folds recall both dandies and classic Greece and like nobody else she looks so damn comfortable in avant garde couture.
You either love or hate Swinton's style.
She obviously won't give a damn either way.

9. Marisa Tomei
The very deserving, and very very beautiful, Best Supporting Actress nominee had been making some of the craziest choices of the season (I was a big fan of her bright yellow SAG dress) and for the Oscars she shows off her quirkiness with a pleated tail that gives her Versace Atelier gown a little something extra, not too common, but not too outrageous.

10. Evan Rachel Wood
After her split from Marilyn Manson, the beautiful Wood, who had gone to the very dark side, has resurfaced like a princess. For the Oscars she was one of the many to wear creams and whites; her classic Elie Saab and simple jewelry make her look like Grace Kelly even when her unusual nail color suggests she's not that innocent.

Oscars 08: Fashion Split Decisions
Oscars 08: Worst Dressed
Oscars 08: Fashion Tendencies
Oscars 08: Post-Show Column

The Wrestler ***1/2

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood

You may never have seen a wrestling match in your entire life and you still will be rooting for Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke), a professional wrestler who is way past his prime and looking for a comeback in Darren Aronofsky's touching character study.
"The Ram" was big in the 80's, where he even had an action figure shaped after him (and which he carries in his car with him), now he's living in a trailer, working part time at a supermarket and doing small venues aware that he's old news in the modern wrestling scene while trying to rekindle his relationship with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Wood) and trying to initiate a romance with a stripper named Cassidy (Tomei).
If everything about the film sounds like a cliché it very well should, the surprise is in how after watching it, it's been everything but that.
Centered on the remarkable performance by Rourke, "The Wrestler" takes a harsh look at a society where the underdogs only get their due in films like this (one of the "best" compliments you can give the film is thinking it was inspired by a true story).
Rourke disappears into Robinson, with a bulked up body, blonde dyed hair and the remains of what one was a face he embodies the pain the man has put up with for so long.
The only thing that reminds him there is a world outside his career is his ailing heart, which both physically and emotionally bring him down to Earth for a moment where he faces that he has to change in order to remain alive.
What Rourke preserves is an intense charm, aided by a sweet, almost paternal voice. When we see him playing a video game with a child, we don't find it surprising that the kid isn't terrified of him and when later he has to work behind the deli counter, the women he serves are enchanted by his brutish kindness.
Yet all of this hides a pain that he doesn't know how to channel. He is a bad father because he doesn't know how else to be; Rourke shines in his scenes with Wood, who gives an affecting performance containing her adolescent resentment until exactly the right moment.
Sometimes you wonder why Robinson chose this job and Rourke makes us understand that it might be perhaps because within it he has found the only place where he can control the pain he receives and the one he inflicts upon others.
Because if this kind of selfish sacrifice, his performance is almost sublime.
Tomei plays his emotional counterpart, at first being almost some sort of a twin. They both play entertainers who must submit to the fantasies of their customers (one remarkable scene cuts between the two of them tidying up for their jobs), both have to be careful in establishing the limit where the job ends and the life begins.
The actress, one of the few who can be completely nude dancing on a pole and stir feelings of kindness, avoids playing her as the stripper with the heart of gold and goes for a raw approach where not even she's sure she'll end up.
"The Wrestler" is shot in verité style by Maryse Alberti, who gives it even more of a documentary feel. The cinematographer's work with the camera is also a wondruous thing to behold, most of the film the camera follows "The Ram", reminiscing the moments before the wrestlers are sent off into the stage and also giving everything a rare kind of sadness making us think that perhaps everything good about Robinson has been left in his past.
Aronofsky details the behind the scenes of wrestling, where we are witnesses of the tricks and maneuvers they plan to put on the show we end up watching. In a way it's as if we're watching the movie being made in front of our eyes, because even when we know for a fact everything we're about to see has been prepared for our entertainment, there is an amount of truth within this that makes it remain compelling.
Those who aren't fans of wrestling will surely wonder what is there to see in a fight where the winner has been resolved before it even begins, where the pain and blood have all been calculated.
What is it that charms viewers about this showcase of artifice? Those who care to see beyond this will find a beautiful metaphor within the spectacle they're witnessing, as wrestling becomes comparable with cinema where the fates of the characters involved have been resolved way before the projection begins, but the journey can't help but feel thrilling nevertheless.
When talking about a match with some of his fellow wrestlers, "The Ram" asks them if they enjoyed it, after getting an affirmative response he stops for a while, points to the audience and remarks "more important, they liked it".

Across the Universe *1/2

Director: Julie Taymor

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson

Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther, T.V. Carpio

Julie Taymor lets you down in this overblown cornucopia of visuals, the Fab Four and faux political statements dressed in film clothes.

Jude (Sturgess) is a Liverpool dock worker who leaves home to find his dad who works in Princeton.

Max (Anderson) is a WASPy type who despises his wealth and drops out of college to take the bohemian life.

His sister Lucy (Wood) has just graduated from high school and lost her boyfriend in Vietnam.

Prudence (Carpio) is a young lesbian who develops a new crush in every scene, but seems to have trouble coming to terms with her sexuality.

Before you can say Yoko Ono, all of these people have come together to live in a Greenwich Village apartment where they go through civil uprisings, war and heartbreak.

Lucy falls for Jude, Max gets drafted and Prudence develops an infatuation over Sadie (Fuchs) a Janis Joplin inspired crooner who was inserted into the plot to play voice for JoJo's (Luther) Hendriz-esque guitar.

Done specifically to play "spot the reference" with fans of The Beatles, the plot revolves around their songs and what moment and visual statement Taymor finds appropriate for each of them.

While you get an inkling that the film was trying to remind us of the timelessness of the songs and the parallels we can draw between the 60s and this decade, the point gets lost or muffled under the images and sounds.

None of the characters get believable emotional archs. You wonder where did all of Lucy's grief go and why does she fall in love with a British womanizer who apparently couldn't care less about his father's rejection.

But when you're beginning to take notice of the obnoxious shallowness of the film, Taymor throws another unnecessary musical number at you.

Just when everything seems as if it's "borrowed" enough from "Moulin Rouge!"'s aestehtics and The Beatles' songs, the film comes and delivers its supposed universal message of how to fix everything: all you need is love.

While the characters sing that and we reflect on how they never seemed to have been affected by anything that occured to them and all they care about is behaving like irresponsible hippies with empty agendas, we sadly realize that nothing's gonna change their world.