Watch This! Across the Universe

Here we are in the first Wednesday of March, talking about our first movie musical. At the time this came out, husband and I had to ride the bus to see it, and it was worth it.

The plot follows the Jude, a young man from Liverpool, who travels to the US to find his absentee father. Once there, he meets Max, a party animal, and subsequently meets Max's sister, Lucy. After Lucy's boyfriend is killed in Vietnam, Lucy starts to have feelings for Jude.

Of course the main point of the movie is the music. You  have to like The Beatles, or you won't enjoy this movie. For the most part, the song use is appropriate and effective at telling the story--although perhaps they cram in a few too many. The other thing that sticks out about this movie is the visuals. It conveys everything from love to heartbreak to what it's like to be on LSD. Like the music, you either love it or hate it, but either way you have to admit that it's interesting. Some of it has the unfortunate habit of screaming SYMBOLISM at the top of it's lungs (e.g. recruits carrying the statue of liberty during "She's So Heavy"). It's not subtle.

My favorite musical number for this movie is "I've Just Seen a Face," which is takes place in a bowling alley pure undiluted fun.

Overall, I know this movie is not for everyone, but if you like musicals you at least have to respect what it's trying to do. See it, if you haven't already.