By: Kim Ferraro
Staff Writer, ‘11

Across the Universe presents a unique collaboration of Beatles songs and numerous plots that connect throughout the movie. Although fictional, this movie offers an interpretation of Beatles songs and works it into a plot. The movie was well liked by many; however, people might disagree since it was a misinterpretation.
The story is set in the sixties. There are two main characters the movie focuses on first: Jude, played by Jim Sturgess, and Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood. Lucy is a young, upper middle-class woman facing the challenge of having her “love of her life” miles away from her fighting in Vietnam. Jude is a young man from England living with his single mother. He is the bastard son from World War II. He separates from his loved one too at this time and sets sail on a ship for America to find his father. Gradually throughout the movie, the characters are drawn together through a sequence of events while the Beatles songs guide their fate through musical numbers.
There are of course couples other than Lucy and Jude that develop throughout the movie. Appropriate to the Beatles, there is a consistent theme of love present throughout the movie. As my father says, “the Beatles are unique because there is an aspect of love present in almost, if not, all of their songs.”
However, there are some who find that the fictional part of the movie is exactly why they do not like it. Some find problems with the fact that it’s a misrepresentation of the Beatles music. The most common complaint is that the songs are re-makes of the Beatles songs, and not as good as the originals. However, the majority of people I encounter generally like the movie and oddly enough some, who have not even seen it, still enjoy the musical soundtrack. If you enjoy a musical that isn’t corny, this movie is enjoyable. It’s interesting to see pieces interpreting era’s of historical significance because it allows you to explore yet another interpretation of the legendary era, in this case the sixties. The movie is a creative and contemporary musical that give the viewer the chance to float back in time to a melodious soundtrack, and so it is different and potentially more enjoyable than many other more popular movies.