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Across The Universe
PLOT SUMMARY
Across The Universe follows the story of a young British worker Jude (Jim Sturgess) as he decides to come to the United States in search of his father. However, Jude ends up meeting carefree college student Max (Joe Anderson) and his lovely sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a cast of eccentric characters from New York City. Jude and Lucy begin to fall in love, but are threatened by the social upheaval that accompanies the Vietnam War. This film is set as a melodrama musical to various songs by The Beatles.
SCENE
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
In this scene, one of the characters is being called to his local army recruitment center. He swallows a cotton ball prior to entering as he has heard if they see anything, like a mass, in your body x-ray they won't make you enlist. This scene uses The Beatles song, "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" in order to connect the United States' effort to gain men in the army, with the truly grueling weight it carries. The combination of the emotion-less army recruiters and weight of Lady Liberty denote the sacrifice many soldiers gave to The United States, often without a desire to.
THEMES
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Love
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War & Sacrifice
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Rebellion
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Social Upheavel
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Music
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As stated in a New York Times article, "Lovers in the ’60s Take a Magical Mystery Tour" the film, "grasps a central emotional duality of a culture in which rage and ecstatic idealism clashed and played into each other at the same time" (Stephen Holden)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
MISE-EN-SCENE
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Lighting: High-key lighting with bright colors during romantic/fantasy. Low-key lighting during revolts/protests/problems.
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Costumes: 1960s decade attire, varied by character and personality.
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Setting: Princeton University, New York City, Liverpool.
SOUND
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Covers set to the music by The Beatles including: Across The Universe, Come Together, I am a Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, All You Need is Love, Revolution, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Let It Be, and more.
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Voiced by the character in that scene (Diegetic), alternates to (Non-Diegetic) sometimes.