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Across the Universe

From the beginning of the movie, Jude (Jim Sturgess) captures your heart as he sits alone on the beach and begins to tell you the story of the girl he loved through the Beatles’ song, “Girl.” The images of newspaper clips, expressive faces and definitive scenes that follow give you an amazing insight into the story that is about to be told.

Through the heartfelt lyrics of the Beatles, Across the Universe, tells the personal story of Jude and his friends and the revolutionary time that the nation went through. Director Julie Taymor is able to bring to life the emotions felt during that generation and stay true to the Beatles message. The songs, changing tempo through scenes, and the amazing, sometimes psychedelic scenes, portray a story of love and despair that the generation of the '60s went through.

Jude’s search for his father takes him to America where he instead finds and befriends Max (Joe Anderson). Quickly, Max introduces him to the American tradition of Thanksgiving and takes him home, where he meets his sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). Little to Jude’s knowledge, his trip to America came at a tumultuous time, as a new generation began to take over the culture. In an effort to find themselves, all roads lead to New York. Jude and Max rent a room from housemother Sadie (Dana Fuchs). Excitement, love, and an urgency to explore life are felt in their new home, along with their roommates, Asian-American Prudence (T.V. Carpio) and African-American JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy).

After Lucy’s high school sweetheart is killed in the Army, she too finds herself in New York, learning to look at the world in a new way. She quickly becomes involved in the anti-war movement after Max is drafted. In a remarkable scene, “I Want You (She‘s so Heavy),” growls Uncle Sam as Max enters the United States Army induction center. Strict choreography is found inside as the recruits are given physical exams. They are mindless robots being controlled by the Army. In the end, they find themselves in the Vietnamese jungle, carrying the Statue of Liberty on their backs. Although the media is filled with iconic images of the war in Vietnam and the '60s, never has the point been illustrated so powerfully as this scene.

As the movie climaxes with the war protests, life’s struggles and the war in Vietnam, Jude and Lucy struggle with their relationship and deal with the historic events around them differently. “Strawberry Fields Forever” exemplifies the climatic point of the period, as artistic Jude pins strawberrys against a white background and watches the red drip from them. Joining that visual is Max in the jungles of Vietnam with strawberry bombs dropping from overhead.

There are many scenes that tell the story of the war abroad, the revolution at home, and the love story between Jude and Lucy. In the end though, they discover that “All You Need Is Love.”

We’ve heard the stories and seen the images that the generation has to offer, but never before have they been presented in this format. Some scenes do seem to drag on, but that is only because you can’t wait for the music to continue as the storytelling climaxes. Many have tried to use the Beatles in their work, to remake and imitate their sound, but the talented actors were able to do so while staying true to the Beatles and the generation. The elements in the movie, along with the people, bring the music to life and epitomize the timeline. They transcend the emotions behind the songs naturally and let you get caught up with the story. Not even Forrest Gump, which also used iconic music and images to tell the story of Vietnam, could tell the story with such fervor. Beatles fans or not, you will find your heart at your sleeve, your emotions at hand and chills running through your body as this story unfolds before you.

Written by: Karla Casillas

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 3

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