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Being Julia
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MPAA RATING: R for some sexuality
Starring Annette Bening, Catherine Charlton, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon, Shaun Evans, Bruce Greenwood, Juliet Stevenson, and Rosemary Harris
This intoxicating combination of wicked comedy and smart drama stars Annette Bening as Julia Lambert, a beautiful and beguiling actress in 1930's London. (Sony Pictures Classics)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Ronald Harwood
W. Somerset Maugham (novel Theatre) |
| DIRECTED BY: | István Szabó |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: March 22, 2005 Theatrical: October 15, 2004 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 105 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | Canada / USA / Hungary / UK |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Egy C. gave it a10:
That's one of the greatest films I've ever seen. Annette Bening is excellent and we can't forget that Szabo Istvan is anexceptional director.
M Middle gave it a2:
tedious, utterly implausible farce, irritating even as a period piece.
[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Solid performances and great script.
Tracy R gave it a5:
Too fluffy. And honestly, as good as Bening is here, I started to feel badly for her. Too much work for too little reward.
Mark B. gave it a9:
Pure, sinful deliciousness from beginning to (near) end. Ronald Harwood's uncommonly witty account of the personal, professional and romantic challenges of an aging stage star in the 1930s, stylishly directed by Istvan Szabo and given a ravishing production that rivals the stunning period work in The Aviator and Kinsey, this plays like All About Eve would've if Margo Channing had been pulling all the strings. While leaving room for plenty of terrific moments for its entire cast, especially Jeremy Irons as the spouse with whom Julia has, let's say, an "agreement" with, Miriam Margoyles as a patron with, let's say, more than a professional interest in Julia, and the wonderful Juliet Stevenson as Julia's critical but loving assistant, Being Julia gives Annette Bening the role of a lifetime (no small accomplishment considering that said lifetime includes perfect performances in Bugsy, American Beauty and much more). She responds with the performance of her and many other performers' lifetime; gloriously over the top but always recognizably, touchingly human, her Julia is alternately and simultaneously calculating, shrewd, vain, ruthlessly manipulative, hugely vulnerable and tremendously sympathetic. When her career and personal life are threatened, you feel for her and want to stand up and cheer (I nearly did, but controlled myself) when she starts to regain control, and yet she carries out her objectives with such singleminded focus that it's almost possible to feel sorry for her adversaries for even daring to think they could cross her path. (ALMOST, I said.) I won't complain at all if Hilary Swank achieves her second Best Actress KO against Bening; I loved Million Dollar Baby and she's terrific in it, but she's playing somebody you're almost immediately predisposed to like and admire; Bening has the far greater challenge pulling off a character who encapsulates every possible color and shade in the spectrum. Besides, in an industry where Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and Michael Douglas can pull down obscenely huge paychecks for playing action or romantic leads year after year until they reach George Burns' age, despite notorious box office flops for each of them, and Kathleen Turner is relegated to Baby Geniuses after one or two career missteps, a victory for Bening (partially due to the nature of her role and what it says about women in show business, now as then) would, along with Virginia Madsen's incredibly gratifying comeback in Sideways, be a hugely welcome triumph for ALL older actresses. Whether this occurs or not, Bening and Being Julia are wonderfully sophisticated fun marred only by the tiniest unnecessary note of uncertainty and ambiguity in the final seconds. C'mon, Ronald and Istvan: why do or say anything to question what a marvelous thing it truly is to be Julia?
Maria E. gave it a2:
Bening's laugh all the through the movie even at really inappropriate times was really, really annoying. The movie didn't go anywhere. It was tiresome.
Jeff L. gave it a 9:
Annette Bening gives a glorious, Oscar-worthy performance in this smart, witty, and very entertaining adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Theater," about an aging British actress (Bening) in 1930's London who finds a new lease on life after falling into an affair with a manipulative young American (Shaun Evans). But even as she discovers his true colors, Julia is determined to have the upper hand. Ronald Harwood, who wrote two other fine films about performers (The Dresser and The Pianist), adds another distinguished script to his list of credits, while Hungarian director Istvan Szabo (Mephisto, Sunshine) purportedly was inspired by the work of the great Ernst Lubitsch (The Shop Around the Corner, Ninotchka, To Be or Not to Be, among numerous works of genius). The supporting cast is also terrific, especially charming Jeremy Irons as Bening's husband ("the handsomest man in England") and the criminially underrated Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply, Bend It Like Beckham) as her hilariously tart-tongued yet devoted dresser. But make no mistake, this is Bening's film from the start. She can be bitchy, sexy, vain, pathetic, vulnerable, and vengeful, often in wonderful combinations. In some ways, she is a warmer variation on Margo Channing, the character played by Bette Davis in the matchless stage drama All About Eve. Bening has done spectacular work throughout her career (The Grifters, Bugsy, American Beauty), but this may be her finest-ever moment on the silver screen. Aspiring actors and all theater buffs should find special joy therein.
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