Paul McCartney loved the film, and who can blame him, Across the Universe being an ode of sorts to The Beatles. For starters, the title of the movie, and the characters are named after Beatles numbers. Find various other allusions and references to the band... the rooftop concert and scenes that replicate album covers.

Then there are the songs themselves— cover versions of 33 tracks including ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’, ‘Blackbird’, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’. So many times, you find yourself waiting eagerly for your fave Beatles numbers and relishing them when they finally come on.

The story woven into all this: Budding artist Jude (Sturgess) and Lucy (Wood) are in love and they live in a New York apartment with Lucy’s brother/Jude’s friend Max (Anderson), apart from the landlady Sadie (Fuchs) and some other souls who go on to join this happy bunch. Trouble brews when Max leaves to fight in the Vietnam War and Lucy joins an anti-war campaign, leaving Jude neglected and frustrated. Sadie and the others have woes of their own. Thus unravels a tale of love, war, friendship, rock n’ roll, under a torrent of symbolism, set in 1960s America. Not much of a story, but a concept creative-enough.

The highlight of this musical is its music, with a majority of the actors themselves contributing to the soundtrack of the film. Don’t miss Salma Hayek in a cameo (as multiple nurses) in the ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ track.
If you aren’t already a fan of The Beatles, the film might just inspire you to dig into your dad’s audio tape collection and give the ‘Fab Four’ a listen.