Across the universe

Across the Universe

2007 Julie  Taymore

                Across the Universe is another one of those films that I put off seeing for years. I had always heard that as a Beatles fan I really owed it to myself to check this movie out though. Those people were not wrong. I found myself completely in from the very start of the film. It’s a visually interesting film with a story driven by Beatles songs, honestly what’s not to like? While my Beatles fandom may have contributed heavily to my enjoyment of the film it’s definitely not essential as the person who showed me the film had never taken the time to really enjoy the music of the band the film definitely has enough going for it to really reach a wider audience.

                The Characters of Jude and Lucy are rich and interesting, they really get developed as the film goes on and we begin to care about them and want things to ultimately go their way. The setting of 1960’s New York City really captures a sense of how things might have been during the 60’s. there are war protests and music all through the streets. The plot and other characters also really lend themselves to the time period The first twenty minutes of the film is essentially getting everybody into New York and establishing who these characters are through song. There’s Max (Maxwell to Beatles fans) who grew up rich and finds himself dissatisfied with life at Princeton so he packs up his bags and moves to New York to have a life that is free from his boring rich kid past.  Prudence is a runaway girl from Ohio who left after she couldn’t deal her own attraction to other women in that environment. Jude is from Liverpool, England (where John Lennon is originally from) and he came to the states to find his father and American who had abandoned his British mother before she even knew she was pregnant. Once Jude accomplished this task he realizes that he likes America and Joins Max on his trip to the city.  Lucy, Max’s sister who joins the boys in the city after receiving the devastating news that her boyfriend was killed in the Vietnam. This gang of characters really becomes a family they all help each other cope with their collective struggles, Max being drafted into the army, Prudence accepting who she is and coming out of the closet, tripping on acid at a party thrown by Bono (playing a character named Dr. Robert but pretty much still Bono). They are a unit and the audience is supposed to care for them all.

                The film is driven by its soundtrack which is comprised entirely of Beatles songs performed by the cast. The plot is really advanced through the songs and because of this listening to the soundtrack on its own is almost as much fun as watching the film.