Across The Universe

For those of you who, for one reason or another, don't remember the late sixties or the early seventies, this piece by the brilliant Julie Taymor ("The Lion King" and "Titus") might supply some missing information, ahem...smile...

Featuring characters named "Jude," "Sadie" and "Lucy" (are you starting to get a glimmer?), this movie provides an overview OF the times while entertaining us with a generous supply of music FROM the times. Jude is played by Jim Sturgess ("21" and "The Other Boleyn Girl") who surprised me with his British accent. I looked him up and sure enough, he was born in the UK and was simply playing American in "21!" Lucy is the other half of boy meets girl, boy loses girl...you know... Her character is confidently played by Even Rachael Wood ("Running with Scissors" and "Thirteen").

Jude is the son of a British girl from Liverpool and an American GI from Princeton, New Jersey, who was never told of his existence. Lucy is the sister of the Ivy League student who befriends Jude when he comes here to track down his father. The generation clashes and the burgeoning protest movement are presented in a natural way, with the evolution of the characters following the all-too-familiar arc that many young adults experienced during that turbulent period...sex, drugs, and rock and roll...

I enjoyed seeing former Seattle actress Linda Emond as Max and Lucy's mother, and the brilliant Bill Irwin in a throwaway cameo as their uncle.

As you might expect, this movie is an excuse to revisit the popular music of the era (over 30 Beatles songs are woven into the plot), although "Strawberry Fields" seems to be the centerpiece...

The editing is impressive and the lip synching is amazing. I found myself caring about the principals and diverted by the music, even though I remember EVERYTHING about that era, so obviously I wasn't a part of the protest movement.

The DVD comes with a generous second disc of extras, but without captions, I had to give up.