Julia
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Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

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  • Summary: Julia, 40, is an alcoholic. She is a manipulative, unreliable, compulsive liar, all strung out beneath her still flamboyant exterior. Between shots of vodka and one-night stands, Julia gets by on nickel-and-dime jobs. Increasingly lonely, the only consideration she receives comes from her friend Mitch, who tries to help her. But she shrugs him off, as her alcohol-induced confusion daily reinforces her sense that life has dealt her a losing hand and that she is not to blame for the mess she has made of it. Glimpsing imminent perdition, and after a chance encounter with Elena, a Mexican woman, Julia convinces herself – as much in panic and despair as for financial gain – to commit a violent act. As the story unfolds, Julia's journey becomes a headlong flight on a collision course, but somehow she makes the choice of life over death. (Magnolia Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Tilda Swinton hasn't often been more fascinating than in Julia, a nerve-wracking thriller with a twisty plot and startling realism.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Gregory Valens
    80
    As Julia, Swinton belongs to that league of great cinematic alcoholics such as Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses" and Ray Milland in "The Lost Weekend." As an action character, she naturally evokes Gena Rowlands without ever trying to resemble her.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    60
    Tilda Swinton doesn't merely act the title role in French director Erick Zonca's Julia--she devours it, spits it back up, dances giddily upon it, twirls it in the air.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    Picture "Fargo" played with no sense of comedy, and you'll get some idea of the absurdity of this drunken floozy, clicking and wobbling on high heels, often with bits of her anatomy hanging out, trying to pull off the perfect crime.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. BrentA
    10
    There are not enough words to describe the veracity of of Tilda Swinton's performance. She is unmatched in her brilliance. This movie is undoubtedly the best movie of the year, and Tilda Swinton needs an oscar for this role.… Expand
  2. stepheng
    10
    I was memorized by Swinton's devasting performance from start to finish. Tilda does deserve an Oscar for this!
  3. JimF
    10
    For about its first hour, "Julia" is one of the craziest good films I've ever seen, and when the lunatic kidnapping plot is put in motion, I thought perhaps I should be calling 911 to have the director arrested for creating the illusion of child endangerment. But the extremely talented, original, and authentic director Eric Zonca, with the great help of a career performance by Tilda Swinton, has something much better and more interesting in mind, a redemptive drama morphed from the shell of a gutsy portrait of addiction that is in every way the movie "Rachel Getting Married" wanted to be but couldn't. "Julia" never for one moment of its almost 2 1/2 hour length plays things safe, but it's a deeply human and satisfying movie all the same.… Expand
  4. JayH
    7
    Tilda Swinton's amazing performance makes the film. She puts so much thought into every role. It's a good story, fine direction and cinematography. It's a very detailed film. One complaint, more should have been cut, it's overlong.… Expand

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