Take a Trip Across the Universe
New Columbia Pictures Movie is an Adventure for the Ears and Eyes
If you like the Beatles and musicals, you will love Across the Universe.
Across the Universe is a romantic musical set in the late sixties using the music of the Beatles as its soundtrack. From the director who brought you “Titus”, “ Frida” and Broadway’s “The Lion King”, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe also dazzles musically and visually like the aforementioned productions.
It begins in Liverpool with a young man named Jude (Jim Sturgess). Jude is a low-income port worker who leaves England to find the American father he never met. At the same time, an all American Girl named Lucy (Rachel Evan Wood) loses her boyfriend to the Vietnam War. Upon arriving in the States, Jude learns his father is no more than a handy man who wants nothing to do with him. Down on his luck, Jude bumps into Max (Joe Anderson), an affluent but wild college student. The two become fast friends when Max, Lucy’s brother, decides to drop out of college and move to New York City with Jude to experience the free loving lifestyle of the sixties. Lucy soon thereafter follows them to the city to help herself get over the loss of her boyfriend. As expected, Jude and Lucy fall in love. The three of them live a bohemian lifestyle in Greenwich Village along with several other like-minded young hippies.
The hugely talented and engaging Jim Sturgiss and Evan Rachel Wood lead a cast of more tremendously gifted and talented actors. Their landlord, Sadie played by Dana Fuchs, is a forty-something year old aspiring recording artist with a Janis Joplin like voice. She strikes up a love affair with a Jimi Hendrix/Marvin Gay-esque singer/guitarist named Jo-Jo played by Martin Luther who moves to New York to pursue his musical dreams after he loses a family member to street violence. There is also a bi-sexual Asian girl named Prudence played by T.V. Carpio. The cast sings thirty-three of the Beatles hit songs with a little help from Bono, Salma Hayek, Eddie Izzard, and Joe Cocker who make cameo appearances.
The story compares and contrasts the war in Vietnam with the war at home (The Civil Rights Movement) while displaying the trials and tribulations of the free-loving lifestyles of these six young dreamers. The impact of war hits home when Max is drafted to Vietnam. Suddenly, Jude and Lucy have to grow up and face the harsh realities of the world. Lucy becomes an anti-war activist, and Jude discovers a talent for art. The pull of their new found passions separate them, but ultimately their intense love for each other brings them back together.
Like most musicals, some of the weaknesses that affect Across the Universe include predictability and thinly developed characterization. As well, Across the Universe suffers from a couple of musical sequences that feel forced and detached from the rest of the movie, causing the 133-minute musical to seem a bit long. Overall, the musical performances and sixties inspired psychedelic images are powerful enough to make up for those flaws. Most memorable are the stellar vocal performances of Fuchs and Luther. If you like musicals, Across the Universe won’t disappoint. It uses one of the most revolutionary bands of the sixties to reincarnate the significant events of the time that changed our world. This trip down memory lane is a fun and poignant homage to the stirring, optimistic, and artistic spirit of the sixties.
Credits:
- Columbia Pictures Revolution Studios, A Matthew Gross/Team Todd production
- Director: Julie Taymor
- Screenwriters: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
- Story: Julie Taymor, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
- Producers: Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd, Matthew Gross
- Director of photography: Bruno Delbonnel
- Production designer: Mark Friedberg
- Music: Elliot Goldenthal
- Songs produced by: T Bone Burnett, Elliot Goldenthal, Teese Gohl
- Co-producers: Richard Baratta, Ben Haber
- Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
- Editor: Francoise Bonnot
- Choreographer: Daniel Ezralow
Cast:
- Lucy: Evan Rachel Wood
- Jude: Jim Sturgess
- Max Carrigan: Joe Anderson
- Sadie: Dana Fuchs
- Jo-Jo: Martin Luther McCoy
- Prudence: T.V. Carpio
- Jude’s Mother: Angela Mounsey
- Jude’s Father: Robert Clohessy
- Lucy’s Father: Dylan Baker
- Lucy’s Mother: Linda Emond
- Uncle Teddy: Bill Irwin
- Bum/Pimp/Mad Hippie: Joe Cocker
- Dr. Robert: Bono
- Mr. Kite: Eddie Izzard
- Singing Nurse: Salma Hayek
MPAA rating: PG-13
