The French trailer for Upside Down, a futuristic romance starring Dunst and the ever-rumpled Jim Sturgess, does not spend a lot of effort (in English, anyway) explaining how its leads came to exist in gravitationally opposed universes, or why their parallel existence precludes a successful relationship. Our very rudimentary French caught something about “the laws of the universe,” however, so we will assume it is a high-stakes affair, the kind of forbidden love that can realign planets or reassign magnetic fields or whatever happens when two people in different worlds really want to bone. If you are at all familiar with Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, then this setup — plus the shot of Sturgess on some sort of universe summit, staring up at Dunst — might remind you of scenes between Lyra and Will. Or you might see the two offices folded on top of one another and expect the Inception braagggh! to chime in at any moment. But it’s the shot of Dunst and Sturgess kissing (wait for it) upside down that everyone will recognize from Kirsten’s similar Spider-Man antics. Kirsten Dunst, really good at making out in unusual situations.
