According to Uma Thurman’s character in Pulp Fiction, “There are two kinds of people in the world: Beatles people and Elvis people….” If you happen to fall into the category of the former, it is high time you saw Across the Universe. In the spirit of Hollywood’s recent trend to produce musical films, Academy Award-winning director and writer, Julie Taymor, has taken thirty-two classic Beatles’ songs and compiled them into a cohesive and quite imaginative story.

Set in the midst of the Vietnam War, the film follows the lives of six Beatles’ characters as they explore a world where the line separating freedom and oppression is not always clear. Taymor makes a point of reminding the audience that the ’60s were about more than just sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.

Throughout the movie, images of the war abroad and the war at home are beautifully contrasted. Early on, the song “Let It Be” is sung as a gospel hymn, serving to connect two different funeral scenes; one memorializing a Detroit riot casualty, the other, paying tribute to a fallen soldier. Furthermore, other real-life events like the violent student protest at Columbia University and the fatal explosion of a homemade bomb in New York City are depicted. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the film is the elegance with which any allusion to 1960s political front or social revolution is made.

The plot is rather clever as well. Interlaced throughout Across the Universe are numerous Beatles’ references. In fact, each individual in the movie is taken directly from the lyrics of a Beatles’ hit. Liverpool native, Jude (of “Hey Jude,”) sets off for America to find his father, only to encounter Max from “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” Subsequently, Jude and Max set off for New York City in search of a little more adventure and joie de vivre. There, the pair becomes tenants of “Sexy Sadie” and befriend Jojo, of “Get Back” and Prudence of “Dear Prudence.” Greenwich Village even attracts Max’s sister, Lucy (of “Lucy in the Sky.”) As an added bonus, many of the personages were based on real people, including Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

Invariably, a romance unfolds between Jude, (played by Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood.) While one may argue that their love story is no better than the next one, their relationship still appears to carry a considerable amount of gravity. It was slightly reminiscent of Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge; so much so that when Jude sings “Girl” during the opening Lucy Montage, one cannot help but think ‘She better not die at the end.’
Then again there are other definite parallels between the two films. Most noticeable is sheer “trippiness.” Like Baz Luhrmann, Taymor utilizes a very interesting directing technique in order to craft what can only be described as a motion picture on drugs. Unlike Luhrmann, though, Taymor’s artistic vision was enhanced by this unconventional approach because she knew how to achieve a stylistic balance between straight scenes and musical numbers.

The music is fantastic. Ordinarily, I am skeptical of remixes, but Across the Universe did the Beatles justice. Everyone in the cast had a very unique voice, yet their ensemble sound was great. It did not hurt to have cameo musical appearances by Bono, Eddie Izzard, or Joe Cocker, either.