56: Across the Spider-Verse

Multiversal travel in the movies, done wrong, is like taking a bus one neighborhood over and putting on a pair of tinted glasses. The location might appear slightly different, but it's still the same plane of existence. Part of this can be attributed to the limitations of the physical world. CGI can augment appearances somewhat, but the quest to make computer-generated special effects appear seamless is mired in the attempt to imitate life. The human eye catches up: ground-breaking special effects look weightless after just a few months. Most attempts to hide the seams feel drab, a vision of another world poorly forced to fit the mold of this one.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse blasts through these limitations by refusing to acknowledge them at all. The Spider-Verse movies aren't interested in reality, they're interested in possibilities. What if form followed function, and the appearance of each instance of the multiverse reflected some inner truth about its central characters? What if we made use of every inch of every frame? What if art style could be used to teach the audience how each version of the multiverse works? What if color and lighting trumpeted the emotional landscapes of the characters on screen?

These tools have always existed in the filmmaker's toolbox, but Across the Spider-Verse uses them all with verve. Every shot of every action scene takes delight in movement and pacing, all with a sense of humor and stakes. When different Spider-People from different universes appear on screen, they're all drawn and animated in their own unique style: the tri-color cel shading of the golden age of Marvel Comics, the impasto of '90s zine collage, the flowing delicacy–and stubbornness–of watercolors. Because each of these characters feel distinct and fully realized, the different animation and art styles complement each other, drawing out their differences as strengths.

Another strength: the film takes its time with its central characters, giving them room simply to exist. The Spider-People, especially Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), are all constantly trying to catch up with their circumstances. They've all been granted great power, and, as the mantra goes, they have to be able to pick up the great responsibility that comes along with it. This often manifests itself in the characters' physical abilities–they are superheroes, after all–but it also manifests in their collective need to leaven the mood with jokes. Most iterations of Spider-Man, past and present, tend to run their mouths.

Miles is an especially good version of this character because he's an actual teenager, trying to find his place in a world in which he feels like he doesn't belong. He's coming to terms with the idea that all things, even good things, will eventually come to an end; someday he'll have to leave Brooklyn and take his place as an adult. The Miles of Across the Spider-Verse is both confident in his abilities and terrified of the possibility that he might truly be alone, both in his abilities and in his ideals. He's able to take action, but the movie also gives him the space to sit with that growing knowledge, to talk to his parents, and to have quiet conversations with other Spider-People that manage to flip the universe upside-down in their reflectiveness. Across the Spider-Verse is a vision of possibilities for other worlds and times and places, but its most exciting possibility is that its characters can grow.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is in theaters now.

What I talked about:

For Seeing & Believing podcast, Kevin and I reviewed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Kevin paired it with Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop.

What I watched:

I rewatched Jafar Panahi's stunning No Bears for an essay I'm working on for Bright Wall/Dark Room. This movie is devastating, and more so every time I revisit it; if you haven't had the chance to see it, it's one of the best of last year, and it's available to stream on the Criterion Channel.

What I'm listening to:

This week I went to a Jess Williamson show at a local whiskey bar with some friends. She's promoting her new record, out next week; the lead singles are well worth listening to. My favorite of the three is called "Chasing Spirits."