1960's musical captures psychedelic atmosphere

A musical love story told entirely through Beatles songs? Could it honestly have gone wrong? OK, well, yes-see Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees in 1978's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." But thankfully, "Across The Universe," the latest stab at a Beatles-oriented musical, should please both Beatles fans and general movie-goers alike.

"Across The Universe" tells the story of Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), two young romantics who meet in the States during the late 1960s and promptly fall in love. They travel on a psychedelic tour bus, hang out with some psychedelic musicians and have a psychedelic makeout session underwater. Whenever one of them is feeling a particularly strong emotion or needs to get a plot point across, which is often, they break out into wonderfully choreographed Beatles songs. Lucy ends up getting involved in an anti-war group protesting against Vietnam, and this becomes a source of conflict for her and Jude. They also meet some side characters along the way, who also have some Fab Four tunes to sing. And unlike the aforementioned Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees example, "Across The Universe" for the most part makes the smart decision of getting actors that can act well and sing-and they are nice to look at too. There are a few exceptions to this, namely Bono, Eddie Izzard and Joe Cocker, and people may have mixed feelings about their performances.

The songs in the film are for the most part pretty faithful to the originals, but some get spiced up a bit. "Hold Me Tight" is done as a swing number, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is done as a slow, mournful ballad and "Let It Be" becomes a gospel song. The vocal performances of the songs are second only to the visuals that blast out magnificently from the screen, as a combination of very well-choreographed dancing and colorful, psychedelic imagery make this film as beautiful to watch as it is to listen to. A bowling alley suddenly becomes the most obvious place to dance and sing with an awesome rendition of "I've Just Seen a Face" by Jim Sturgess, "Come Together" is performed by people on the street as a character named JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy) walks through the city and "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite" is, of course, performed by a circus-like menagerie complete with life-size Blue Meanies from "Yellow Submarine." The movie's songs jump back and forth between loud, bombastic, psychedelic productions to stripped down, intimate performances.

If you haven't figured it out already, the plot takes a second billing to the music in "Across The Universe." This film will definitely be most appreciated by those who like The Beatles, or at least know their songs. However, that doesn't mean you have to be a Beatles fanatic to enjoy "Across The Universe." As long as you enjoy good music and great visuals, as well as a fairly captivating plot, "Across The Universe" is worth shelling out $9 to see. Just be prepared to spend another $15 afterwards, when you need to buy the soundtrack.