He befriends a Princeton student, Maxwell (Max) Carrigan (Joe Anderson), a rebellious and eccentric young man from a privileged background. After Jude learns that his father works at Princeton as a janitor, he goes to meet him, but then Jude has nowhere else to go. boyfriend's truck passes an Ohio football field where a Cheerleader (Prudence) sings to herself her feelings towards a fellow cheerleader ("I Want to Hold Your Hand"). As Jude is landing in New York, Lucy's G.I. father, Wes Huber (Robert Clohessy), whom he has never met and who does not know Jude exists. He jumps ship in New Jersey to search for his American G.I. Against the wishes of both his mother and his girlfriend, Jude enlists in the merchant navy and travels by ship to the United States of America ("All My Loving"). The story begins in Liverpool, England with a young shipyard worker named Jude (Jim Sturgess), who asks the camera if "anyone wants to hear his story all about the girl who came to stay." ("Girl"). The story apparently takes place from about late 1965 to mid 1969. The film's plot and narrative structure interweave the stories of several characters whose lives cross paths during events set against the backdrop of the turbulent middle/late 1960s. Mitchum, performed as part of a special Beatles tribute at the 50th Grammy Awards. Two members of the supporting cast, Carol Woods and Timothy T. Opening to mixed reviews, Across the Universe was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Cameo appearances are made by Bono, Eddie Izzard, Joe Cocker, Salma Hayek, and others. Carpio, and introduces Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther McCoy as actors. The film, directed by Taymor, stars Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, and T. It incorporates 34 compositions originally written by members of The Beatles. The script is based on an original story credited to Taymor, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2007. And yes, the songs will strike a chord as well.Īcross The Universe is out in the UK on 28th September 2007.Across the Universe is a musical film directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Thankfully, Sturgess keeps the film grounded with a rumpled, earthy charm, and Wood brings much-needed emotional depth. Bono gets an even more indulgent cameo as a cowboy-cum-hippy, performing a fine rendition of 'I Am The Walrus' before leading us a merry dance to Nowheresville. Sensory overload makes this journey a little wearying, and some sequences feel completely redundant, eg, a musical number featuring Eddie Izzard as a ringmaster of blue-faced freaks. Similar to her Kahlo biopic Frida, she inventively blends animation, live action and digital effects to create a world that's just a few notches brighter than reality. Rather than engaging young minds, Taymor dazzles them with admittedly arresting images. Whilst the politics of the film continue to resonate, all that is very much a back note.
The Civil Rights movement also gets a shout, but Taymor must subscribe to the theory of a random universe, because all of these ideas and subplots come together in a way that's barely coherent.
Inevitably, she becomes his muse, but their bond is tested when she begins spending more time publicly protesting against The Vietnam War. He shares a house with all manner of kooks and creative types, including his best friend's sister Lucy. Jude sets off from dreary Liverpool and eventually winds up in colourful Greenwich Village, New York. But the love story really takes second place to a wild carnival of sights and sounds. In the midst of social upheaval in 60s America, he becomes love-struck by Evan Rachel Wood as freethinker Lucy ('In The Sky With Diamonds').
Across The Universe is, essentially, a psychedelic trip fronted by British actor Jim Sturgess playing young artist Jude (as in, 'Hey.'). Shuffling through The Beatles' back catalogue, director Julie Taymor presents a very forward-thinking musical.