Musicals made in the modern-day are tough to find. Sure, in the last few years, we've seen some big-screen adaptations of Broadway hits, but in the grand scheme of things, most people just don't really scream for more movie musicals in this day and age. That's why it's so fantastic to have found this film, and most definitely the soundtrack, as it uses primarily songs from The Beatles!
The film opens with Jude, a young English guy who is sitting on the beach, sad about something. Cut to the real beginning of the story, where we meet Lucy, a high school girl who is constantly worried about her boyfriend, who is currently fighting in the Vietnam war. Jude has decided to come to America so that he can seek out his Father, who he has never met. When he arrives, he finds that his Father works as a janitor at Princeton University. While there, he meets and quickly becomes best friends with Max.
The film opens with Jude, a young English guy who is sitting on the beach, sad about something. Cut to the real beginning of the story, where we meet Lucy, a high school girl who is constantly worried about her boyfriend, who is currently fighting in the Vietnam war. Jude has decided to come to America so that he can seek out his Father, who he has never met. When he arrives, he finds that his Father works as a janitor at Princeton University. While there, he meets and quickly becomes best friends with Max.
Jude accompanies Max home for Thanksgiving, where he is introduced to Max's little sister, Lucy. Jude immediately becomes smitten with her, but she still has a boyfriend who's fighting in the war. Max drops out of college, and together with Jude, decides to find an apartment in New York City. The only one they could find is with a woman named Sadie, an aspiring singer. Elsewhere in the world is a man named Jojo, who ventures to New York after his little brother is killed during the 1967 Detroit riot. Jojo soon finds a home with the trio, as does Prudence, a young girl who was seeking shelter after abandoning the abusive relationship she was in. Of course, the group soon find themselves with yet ANOTHER roommate: Lucy, who wished to visit her brother before starting college after getting a letter telling her that her boyfriend was killed in action.
The story ventures into the many misadventures the group finds themselves in while trying to navigate their way through late-1960s society. This includes hopping aboard the psychedelic "Beyond Bus" with Doctor Robert, then witnessing Mr. Kite's bizarre circus. Inner turmoil soon starts to develop between Sadie and Jojo after Sadie signs a contract to go solo, leaving the band in the lurch. Max finds himself unwillingly drafted into the United States Army and sent to Vietnam to fight. And the love story between Jude and Lucy takes a drastic turn when Lucy joins other protestors of the Vietnam War, and begins to go a little crazy with it. During one demonstration that gets out of hand, Jude tries to help Lucy evade the cops, but is arrested himself, and soon after deported back to England.
Things seem to go from bad to worse. Max is wounded in battle, and is sent home completely scarred from what he witnessed and addicted to morphine. Sadie continues to drown her sorrows in alcohol while on tour. Jojo continues playing guitar in small clubs across the city, and in a scene that brings us back to the start of the film, is sitting on the beach completely miserable over a newspaper article that told of a homemade bomb exploding at the same building where Lucy met the other protestors. However, through Max, he finds out that she is, in fact, still alive, so he comes back to America. Legally, this time.
When he arrives, he finds that Sadie has left her tour and came back, patching things up with Jojo and beginning their relationship together. A concert has been set up on the roof of their old apartment building, and after a failed attempt to get up with the others, Lucy rushes to the rooftop of the building next door, where she and Jude lock eyes for the first time since the riot.
I love this movie! It perfectly blends the era of the late '60s, the hatred of the Vietnam war and the consistent protesting, and The Beatles music. We get fantastic songs like "Girl", "I've Just Seen A Face", "Blackbird", "Let It Be", "Helter Skelter", "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Something", "I Am The Walrus", "Because", "Don't Let Me Down", and many more. Actually, Evan Rachel Wood's version of "Blackbird" is hauntingly beautiful, and in some ways rivals the original in my opinion.
I love this movie! It perfectly blends the era of the late '60s, the hatred of the Vietnam war and the consistent protesting, and The Beatles music. We get fantastic songs like "Girl", "I've Just Seen A Face", "Blackbird", "Let It Be", "Helter Skelter", "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Something", "I Am The Walrus", "Because", "Don't Let Me Down", and many more. Actually, Evan Rachel Wood's version of "Blackbird" is hauntingly beautiful, and in some ways rivals the original in my opinion.
The cast was perfectly chosen. Those who pay incredibly attention to the details would realize that when it comes to the six main characters, their names are all taken from Beatles songs. Evan Rachel Wood as Lucy("Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"), Jim Sturgess as Jude("Hey Jude"), Joe Anderson as Max("Maxwell's Silver Hammer"), Dana Fuchs as Sadie("Sexy Sadie"), Martin Luther McCoy as Jojo("Get Back"), and T.V. Carpio as Prudence("Dear Prudence"). Each actor/actress does wonderfully in their role, and they all provided the vocals themselves! Out of all of them, though, I think the two that really shined musically would have to be Wood and Fuchs. Wood has a sweet, elegant quality to her voice, while Fuchs brings a powerful, raw energy to her performances.
This is a great film for anyone! Not just Beatles fans. Look out for the special cameos, like U2's Bono as Doctor Robert, and comedian Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite. There's even a cameo by Salma Hayek as a nurse. When you view this film, you can even close your eyes at certain points and just let the music take you away. But quickly open them back up, or you might miss the rest of the story!