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A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy -- against all odds -- to find their own way back to each other.

The movie was very much like Billy Joel's Movin Out in how it set characters in the appropriate time period and made them face situations represented in the music, but instead of Billy Joel, Across the Universe uses songs only by The Beatles. And I was amazed to find out how many of the songs I would have sworn were not by The Beatles.

In Across the Universe we see much of the 1960s American culture through the lives of a few young adults. When Jude comes to the US from England (Liverpool!) he makes some friends who will challenge the way he sees the world - as the world changes around him.

All of the songs were sung by the cast, whether it was Jim Sturgess (Jude), Evan Rachel Wood (Lucy), or anyone else. The singing was great, the song choices were great, and the scenes into which they were incorporated were great. I'm not sure if I should praise the writers or the director or both for the scenes picked and the cast member(s) chosen to sing. There was at least one time when the singing was done by someone who was seemingly just an extra in the film and it was very powerful for me.

I've not been able to understand the storm by which Evan Rachel Wood has taken the film industry. But she was good in this role, but more in her non-talking scenes. Her emotions are great, but I find that most of the time she comes off as too young. Separately, I thought she did a great job singing.

The movie starts well and ends well after a short break in the middle. I thought the story took a dump for a while when working in the psychodelic 60s, but that part did feature a brilliant cameo by Bono. The story was VERY artsy. Sometimes it was a little over-the-top, others it was beautifully artistic. I really enjoyed Across the Universe and the more I think about it, the more I realized how much I liked it.

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