Love and friendship come under the microscope, set to a Beatles soundtrack
A musical fantasy, Across the Universe is a magical mix of songs by The Beatles and a love story between a British working-class young man and a middle-class American girl in 1960s New York City. And, like a Beatles song, it will grab you the moment it starts.
The film opens on a sad-eyed young man (Jim Sturgess) sitting alone on a beach, staring into the camera and singing the song Girl, a tune imbued with heartbreaking universality. This is a scene that can melt your heart.
And the movie, directed and co-written by Julie Taymor, just gets better and better, telling a story that defines not only love, but also a generation of young people struggling to find their voice in face of war and conformity.
Like most of the major players in the movie, the young man is named after a Beatles song. Jude is a British dockworker who travels to the US in search of the father he never met.
There he comes across Max (Joe Anderson), a wayward student from a privileged family, and his charming younger sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood).
Together, the three young people travel to New York City, which is like a pot about to boil over as anti-war sentiments and rock 'n' roll occupied the minds of rebellious youth.