Across the Universe

Across the Universe was the biggest anticipated film of the fall season for me. As an avid Beatles fan, the idea of a musical film based entirely on Beatles songs sounded perfect. The film is set in the 1960s during the Vietnam War and deals with historical events of the time, such as racial struggles, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., anti-war groups, the hippie movement, and psychedelic drug use.

After finally seeing the film (after it opened in Chattanooga a few weeks after the release date), it was everything I expected. Jude, played by Jim Sturgess, travels to the United States in search of his absentee father, only to find his father a disappointing janitor at Princeton. While lurking around campus, Jude meets Max (Joe Anderson), a rule-breaking Ivy League student, and befriends him. Max later introduces Jude to his younger sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), an angsty teen whose boyfriend was shipped off to Vietnam only to return as a dogtag and box of ashes. The three characters end up living in the Village of New York with a Joplin-esque singer (Dana Fuchs as Sadie), a guitarist resembling Jimi Hendrix (Martin Luther as JoJo), and a misguided lesbian (T.V. Carpio as Prudence). As the film progresses, Max is drafted to the Vietnam War, Jim and Lucy fall in love, and the cast of characters battle with the repercussions of the current state of the country. The film is packed with Beatles references (such as the name choices), hallucinations (Bono’s magical mystery tour), beautiful costumes, and incredible makeup (the soldiers examining Max are both frightening and amazing).



The film is a musical, so it does include several cheesy scenes, such as business men dancing on the streets, teenagers running through a glowing bowling alley, and bizarre scenery. There are a few guest appearances, like Bono donning a cowboy hat and colored lenses (that’s odd…) as Dr. Robert and Eddie Izzard as the over-the-top Mr. Kite. Some of my personal favorite songs were “Let It Be,” the opening “Girl,” and “Something.” Both Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood have excellent voices, and I was surprised to find out that most of the musical sequences were filmed live on set. Some songs that were missing (that I would have liked to have seen): “Eleanor Rigby,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” and “The End.”



Official film website: acrosstheuniverse.com
IMDB: Across the Universe
Trailer: YouTube