Across the Universe Review

Posted by socalrunnergirl on June 12, 2008

I watched Across the Universe the other day and have to say that I recommend it. I am not always a fan of musicals but sometimes they strike a chord in me. I’m a sucker for a good love story so that helps as it did in Across the Universe (and Moulin Rouge).

Aside from the all Beatles Soundtrack (and some interesting and good new renditions of their songs), the film is littered with names and references from Beatles lyrics. These include the main characters Jude & Lucy, JoJo, Max, Sadie, and Prudence (who is literally coaxed out of a closet) to embrace her sexuality set to the song Dear Prudence (of course).

Bono even makes an appearance and does a pretty amazing extended version of I Am the Walrus. His voice appears again in the credits with a rendition of Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds.

In all there are 33 Beatles songs in this film. For a list you can visit Wikipedia. Only 16 songs made the basic soundtrack on CD and 31 are on the extended sountrack.

I also like the clever placement of lines like "She came in through the bathroom window", and "I told myself, when I’m 64" and more than I can’t remember.

Read more below (spoilers included!)

The real story was the love story between poor Liverpoolian Jude and
American Lucy who comes from a well-to-do background. Jude arrives in
the USA to look for the dad he has never met and encounter Lucy there.
They up together amidst the surrounding turmoil of the 60′s and the
Vietnam War. Lucy gets involved with a radical anti-war group which
starts to drive a wedge between the two.

A great scene I like is the
use of "Revolution" as Jude marches into the anti-war office belting
out "you say you want a revolution, well we all want to change the
world.". Jude is upset that the leader of the group targets young
women to join with him so he can seduce them. This action drives the couple
apart completely and later during an anti-war rally Jude tries to help Lucy
who is in trouble and gets arrested and subsequently deported.

I’m leaving out many details but Jude does make his way back to the USA
when he hears about the anti-war group making bombs and is concerned
about Lucy’s well being.

The final scene plays out as Jude is going to a rooftop concert that
gets broken up by police for no permit. He hides and stays on the roof
while everyone else is escorted down. He doesn’t know where Lucy is
but he steps up to the microphone and starts singing a moving acapella
version of "All You Need is Love.". The police and his friends come
back up and his friends talk the police into letting him continue.
Lucy is blocked from getting up on the roof so she goes up on the building next door
and toward the end of the song as Jude is getting discouraged he looks
up to see her staring at him from across the street. I’ll admit I
cried here