Across the Universe

Just a note before I write my thoughts - There are many movies coming out and I have limited time. So I will try to give you an idea of what the film is about and then tell you what I thought of it. But I will try to do it in as few words as possible.

Now to the film at hand. I liked Across the Universe more than I thought I would. I really liked director Julie Taymor's two previous films Titus and Frida. She a unique and very creative talent. But the word on this film was not great. However, for someone like myself it is very well worth seeing.

The story starts out in Liverpool. Jude (Jim Sturgess) lives with his mom and works on the docks. He also has a girlfriend. One day he decides to work on a ship. But he winds up in Princeton looking for his father. He finds him but he also befriends Max (Joe Anderson). He is welcomed into Max's family and is smitten by Max's sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). Lucy has a boyfriend but, sadly, he is killed in Vietnam a short while later.

The film is filled with wonderful Beatles music sung by the cast. It is a real throwback to the fabulous 60s. We see race riots, soldiers fighting in the war and anti-war protests back at home. Taymor made everything feel authentic. And she was aided by screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais (who also wrote Still Crazy which is another film that I like). The visuals are stunning and the choreography is amazing. I found myself singing along to the tunes quite a few times. I cried during Let it Be and I had a huge grin across my face during I Am the Walrus (which was sung by sting).

None of the actors was particularly outstanding. But that didn't matter. This is a director's film.
I left the theater thinking yes, all we need is love. But where did the love go? I wish we could get some of it back from that time oh so long ago.