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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
Across the Universe
This unique movie combines 33 songs by the Beatles in a story pitting young love against the turbulence of the 1960s.
When Jude (Jim Sturgess) a dock worker from Liverpool comes to America to look for his biological father, he meets Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and her brother Max (Joe Anderson) and along with several friends they make their way through the turmoil of the era. The songs help tell the story and move it along. For instance, when Jude is saying goodbye to his girlfriend in England before sailing to America, he sings All My Loving. “Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you, tomorrow I’ll miss you.”
The trio and their friends begin by trying to understand what is happening in the world. The 60s was unique in itself, encompassing the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, the women’s movement, free love, flower children, hippies, anti-war protesters, and experimental drugs that spun out of control. The film begins with the characters then spins into some psychedelic scenes as the turmoil of the time increases.
When Max gets drafted he is sent to Vietnam and when he returns, he is a broken man. The war took a toll on his psyche.
In the meantime Jude, an artist, is hired to design the logo for their friend Sadie’s (Dana Fuchs) new record label. The filmmakers make this a very clever scene. First Jude is sketching an apple but changes to a strawberry - Strawberry Fields Forever.
While all this is going on, Lucy changes from a prim, proper, wealthy young woman who could do anything with her life to a radical war-protesting woman with one thing on her mind. She wants to stop the war. Her first boyfriend was killed in the war and now her brother is affected by it. But Jude doesn’t have the same intensity against the war. Her involvement in the anti-war movement comes between them.
This film is brilliant, creative, unique, cool, far out, right on, and a trip. My only criticism is it is a bit too long at 2 hours 11 minutes. There are a few scenes that could easily be deleted.
For people who love the Beatles, this is a delight. For people who lived through the time, this will be a reminder of the past. And for people who only read about this decade, it will show an artsy and interesting vision of the time. It is the music combined with a story, or a story combined with the music. And at the heart of it is the love between Jude and Lucy. After all, All You Need is Love.
© 2007 Francine Brokaw
Photos ©Sony Pictures Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
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