Across the Universe

5 stars out of 5

Across the Universe is an Academy Award nominated musical set to some of the Beatles most iconic songs. It is essentially a “boy-meets-girl” love story surrounding Jude (Jim Sturgess), a dockworker and artist from Liverpool, and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a high school senior from upper class suburbia.

The plot begins with Jude leaving Liverpool for American in order to find his absentee father, a janitor at Princeton. Through a series of events, Jude befriends Max (Joe Anderson), Lucy’s older brother, and together they move to The Village in New York. Their new apartment is filled with an array of characters; you have Sadie (Dana Fuchs) the landlady with a Janis Joplin vibe, JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy) the Hendrix-esque guitarist from Detroit, Prudence (T.V. Carpio) the lesbian cheerleader from Ohio, and later Lucy as she becomes involved in the anti-war movement. Together they make their way through the 60s, the war, and 34 of the Beatles greatest hits.

Before seeing the film, I was already a big musical fan and now Across the Universe is one of my favourite films. Who doesn’t love a world where you can breakout into choreographed musical performances where everyone knows the lyrics and steps?

The acting is better than expected and the songs, that are re-arranged and recorded to fit the experience, are beautifully done allowing a new generation to fall in love with the Beatles. Aside from the standout music sequences (with Let it Be, Strawberry Fields, and I Want You in particular) and talented leads, there are some enjoyable cameos including Bono, Joe Cocker, Eddie Izzard, and Salma Hayek. This just adds to the over enjoyable experience of the film.

In my books, this is well deserving of a 5 out of 5 stars rating.