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Across the Universe is a simple story of a lovestruck couple - Jude and Lucy - who meet in the United States after Jude crosses the Atlantic as a stowaway in search of his father. They live together in New York City with Max, Lucy’s brother who drops out of Princeton to get away from it all. Soon they get together with a motley crew of characters - Sadie as the consummate female rocker, Jojo as the black guitarist, Prudence as the innocent Asian chick, and other characters from the 60s era. They are joined by cameo appearances by Bono, Eddie Izzard, Joe Crocker, and Salma Hayek. While watching the movie, we recognized these characters but didn’t think they actually were really those people. Although I am not a big fan of musicals, I loved this movie for its real-life characterization unlike those show dances we generally associate with musicals. I was momentarily bored by the whole circus act featuring Eddie Izzard as the ring master but probably that reflected the psychedelic world the hippies of that era loved to be in. Also, you will easily associate the secondary characters with real-life characters of that era. For e.g. Sadie perfectly embodies the Janice Joplin and Jojo may be inspired by Jimi Hendrix.
The best part of this movie is the Beatles soundtrack. The entire movie incorporates 34 songs written by the Beatles juxtaposed with the storyline. The characters in the movie are also named after people in the songs. You’ll definitely recall songs like Hey Jude, Sexy Sadie, Dear Prudence, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, among others. The soundtrack doesn’t simply play in the background but in fact is sung by the characters (as in a musical) with a unique twist to the original composition without taking away from the beauty of the songs.
Life in the tumultuous 60s is aptly depicted with the political protests, the Vietnam war, and the tussle of love between individuals caught between it all. The Beatles soundtrack provides the icing on the cake. If for nothing else, watch this movie for the Beatles. If you loved them, you’ll definitely enjoy this movie.
by Patrix | on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 5:19 pm | 
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February 14th, 2008 at 8:34 pm reply
Ooh, I LOVE the song Across the Universe. I had no idea about this movie, so thanks for the recommendation. Looks like a must-watch.
Kamini
February 14th, 2008 at 10:58 pm reply
Kamini, I am sure you’ll love it. BTW the movie was also nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Globes.