The Justice

In the words of Jude, the famed subject of the well-known Beatles song and lead character of the new film Across the Universe, "It's not what you do, but how you do it." This music-packed flick "does it" with flying psychedelic colors. Set in the tumultuous '60s when love and drugs flowed freely, the flick follows six friends-each bearing a name corresponding to a Beatles song-as they reinvent the Beatles' music as it corresponds to their chaotic love lives and uncertain futures.

Jude (Jim Sturgess) is a Brit from the Beatles' own hometown, Liverpool, and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) is from the cushy suburbs of America. The two manage to fall in love in the easy, happy-go-lucky manner celebrated in many of the Beatles' earlier, but less substantial, songs (see "Love me Do"). Even though he's a relative unknown, Sturgess' mannerisms and voice sound so natural in the role that the second he starts singing there's no question that he was born to play a John Lennon-esque artist. Some of my personal favorites include his chilling rendition of "Something," a ballad to his muse and lover, Lucy, and the film's closing song and fan favorite, "All you need is love." Wood is less lucky, and while she nails down the hippie look, her operatic voice feels out of place in the swinging '60s.

Not all is lost, however, and there to redeem the movie's value is Sadie (Dana Fuchs), a nightclub singer, whose dusk-til-dawn lifestyle not only embodies New York nightlife and rock and roll, but she also belts out "Helter Skelter" with a fierceness that would make Janis Joplin look twice. If you're waiting for hits like "Sexy Sadie" to be sung, you'll be disappointed, because the film's director left them out. The musical choices are somewhat surprising overall, with songs like "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" and "Blue Jay Way" making the flick, while "Here Comes the Sun" and "Hello, Goodbye" being left on the cutting room floor. For those songs that are included in the film, die-hard fans might have a hard time overcoming the revamped versions, but for those who can, the new perspective is like a breath of fresh air. "Let it Be," for example, sung by a young, scared boy huddling near the side of a broken-down car during the Chicago street riots, creates a poignant moment as images of police brutality stream across the screen. Even more memorable is "Strawberry Fields Forever," the graveyard imagery of which makes every audience member feel reflective as blood-red juice runs down the screen. At this point, the film seems more like a work of art and not just another Hollywood anti-war blockbuster. To my own personal regret, the film's version of "With a Little help from my Friends" is a poor interpretation of a classic song, which is even more disappointing seeing as how Joe Cocker (whose cover of the song is legend to any Wonder Years junkie) makes an appearance in the film during the song "Come Together."

For those who know their Beatles trivia, the film will not disappoint, with references featured left and right-from Prudence's entrance into Jude's apartment through the bathroom window (the title of a hit from Abbey Road), to Sadie's comment that Max, Jude's friend, may have killed someone with a silver hammer despite his innocent appearance (another Abbey Road classic).

In the end, Across the Universe isn't just another attempt to capitalize on the Beatles' fame, but an actual reinvention of some of the greatest songs of all time (say, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a lesbian love song). While the psychedelic factor may not be every person's cup of tea, you don't have to be high on drugs to know these songs still hold up to our high standards.

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