Across the Universe

114. Across the Universe

Across the Universe has become one of my favorite movies in the 3 years since its release. I vividly remember first seeing the trailer with Jim Sturgess singing the opening lines of Girl by the Beatles. At that point, I knew that I had to see what was being referred to as "the Beatles musical". It received an pretty limited theatrical release with its widest release being shown on just 964 screens. Now compare that to the latest blockbusters and you'll see that it didn't stand much of a chance. It's too bad really. More people should have gotten the opportunity to see this movie.

It tells the story of Jude, a shipyard worker from Liverpool. He decides to enlist in the Merchant Navy in an attempt to meet the father he's never known. Believing him to be a professor at Princeton University, he jumps ship there. Upon arriving there, he runs into Max, a student on the verge of dropping out. Max befriends Jude, bringing him home to spend Thanksgiving with his family. While there, he meets Max's sister Lucy, developing feelings for her almost instantly. After an argument with his family, Max officially drops out of school and moves to New York City with Jude in tow. From there, they personally encounter the Vietnam War, the protests associated with it and the drug culture of the 1960s.

First off, this is a musical. I know it might sound odd for a straight guy to say this, but I am a big fan of musicals. Probably stems from seeing both Grease movies at a pretty young age. In this particular case, all of the songs are Beatles songs. How can you go wrong with the Beatles? Seriously.

Everything about this movie just knocks me out. This is one of those rare movies that I can't manage to find one negative thing about. No matter how much I love the movie, I'll typically be able to find some sort of flaw in it. Not so here. The cast is top notch with Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, and Martin Luther McCoy all shining. They are all solid actors and perform the songs just beautifully. They really do justice to the Beatles catalog. So much so, that I actually own the 2 disc deluxe edition of the soundtrack. Supporting cast has appearances by Bono, Eddie Izzard, Joe Cocker and Salma Hayek. I'm not usually the type of guy to talk about how well a film is shot and how great everything in it looks but I will in this case. This is just a great looking movie. The cinematographer and the art department really did outstanding work here.

Words really can't express quite how much I love this movie. When I'm having a lousy day, I can always pop this into the dvd player and lose myself for a couple of hours. I literally can not possibly recommend this movie anymore than I do. I strongly suggest everyone check it out.