Being Julia

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Bening shines, and the film shines too.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The supporting performers all shine, especially Irons in the thankless role of the clueless cuckold husband.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Bening makes the movie into something finer still.

Chicago Reader Meredith Brody

Witty, satisfying, and a terrific showcase for the radiant Bening.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

Maugham's signature wit and tragic colorations are well served by director Istvan Szabo (Mephisto) and screenwriter Ronald Harwood (The Dresser).

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

The filmmakers have brought such breadth and depth to the material. Everyone counts in this film, not just Julia Lambert.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

A pleasantly diverting period romp that Annette Bening turns into a wickedly funny tour de force.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Being Julia flirts too heavily with soap opera clichés, but it has enough surprises to keep you guessing, and for Annette Bening it's the liveliest of comebacks.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Part of the movie's fascination is watching Ms. Bening play a role that tantalizingly mirrors her own position in today's movie world - and she does it with wit, sparkle, and all-out energy.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Being Julia is really about the fear of aging and the battle to remain relevant professionally and sexually.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Bening's performance makes up for a lot of deficiencies.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

You can feel her (Bening) drag Being Julia uphill for an hour and a half until the final 15 minutes, when the ground finally levels out and the picture becomes fine, vengeful fun.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

A one-woman show.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Like a truffle in a fluted paper cup, a small delight made with care and attention to detail.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

May lack originality but makes up for it in sheer bravado and really nice clothes

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

It is echt Maugham, in its somehow flattering cynicism, its character crinkles, its perceptions that sting even though they don't go very deep.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A delightful though wafer-thin starring vehicle for one of our finest actresses, Annette Bening.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Ms. Bening is the only reason to see the movie, but a compelling reason. Just like Julia, she prevails over lesser mortals with unfailing zest.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

A tour de force and an utter delight, studded with priceless supporting bits by Miriam Margolyes, Maury Chaykin, Rosemary Harris and Rita Tushingham, each of whom steals at least one richly deserved moment in the spotlight.

Film Threat Stina Chyn

Szabo could have made a conventional melodrama...The director takes an alternate route and offers his viewers a drama burnished with a coat of comedy.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The little drama queen who lives inside each of us will find Being Julia hard to resist.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Like a palate-cleansing sherbet in place of an entre?. It's mildly flavorful going down, leaves us hungry for something more substantial and fades from memory the moment we've finished it.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Annette Bening plays Julia in a performance that has great verve and energy, and just as well, because the basic material is wheezy melodrama.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Whether it's the clothing, cars or furniture, everything is sleek and chrome-plated. That is, with the exception of Bening's alchemical performance, which turns brass to gold.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

It's a virtual clip reel of grandly comic moments that remind us what a good actress can do when parts are scarce.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

A bland Shaun Evans is woefully miscast as the brash American.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Because I so enjoyed the last 45 minutes, I'm tempted to recommend it. The problem is that you have to sit through an hour to get to the worthwhile parts.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Bening takes a complex, sometimes cloying character and makes her sympathetic - all the while pulling off a British accent with seeming ease. She single-handedly makes the movie worth seeing.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Being Julia may not make much psychological or dramatic sense, but Ms. Bening, pretending to be Julia (who is always pretending to be herself), is sensational.

LA Weekly Kim Morgan

But for all Bening’s high emoting and her trademark giggle, here overused to the point of annoyance, for most of its length Being Julia offers little insight into a woman whose life is ruled by theatrics.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Suggests a cross between "Sunset Boulevard" and "All About Eve." The suggestion, alas, doesn't go very far, but Bening's performance approaches the pantheon.

Variety Todd McCarthy

A minor affair, a confection based on dalliances and the way a set of sophisticated theater people handle them, that lacks true distinction.

Newsweek David Ansen

Films about great theatrical divas (so temperamental! So divine!) all strike familiar notes. This Somerset Maugham adaptation is no exception. But Annette Bening, playing the queen of the '30s London stage, makes it worth another go-round.

Empire Anna Smith

It's a shame the suggested theme of identity remains undeveloped, but there are enough laughs and splashes of nostalgic glamour to excuse that.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

The performance of Bening (and, quietly, Irons) keeps Being Julia from being too tiresome.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

It looks handsome but seems infected by the idea of playing different roles; a comedy in one scene, it adopts a mood of a high seriousness the next and clutters the stage with minor characters that contribute little. In the end, this inability to make up its mind does the film in.

Village Voice Leslie Camhi

Bening's comic gifts make the most of Ronald Harwood's witty screenplay, though she falls flat in her character's rare moments of sincerity.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Hungarian director Istvan Szabo (Sunshine) overplays his hand and traps Bening in a role that's all emoting, no emotion.