|
Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
JULIA Tilda Swinton should work for the Motion Picture Association of America, deployed to create texture and depth in films that are otherwise lacking. How many other performers can be said to have this talent? Without Swinton, Erick Zonca’s Julia would be an unrealistic disaster gaping with illogical holes—the film’s similarity to John Cassavetes’s Gloria feels less like homage and more like a remake. It’s still a disaster, but Swinton’s presence in nearly every frame pulls all the focus to her, turning what could be a simple, sentimental caper to a transcendent character study that reaches deep for the genetic makeup of a modern villain. Julia (Swinton), an apologetic alcoholic, is so far from any transformative experience that such a prospect would seem like a laughable myth. She lives in a beautiful Los Angeles apartment, probably paid for by Mitch (Saul Rubinek), the same recovering alcoholic benefactor who gave her the job she just trashed by showing up to work drunk too many times. Part of their arrangement involves her attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where she meets her neighbor, Elena (Kate del Castillo), for the first time. Elena is a crackpot who pulls the desperate Julia into a scheme to kidnap her child from his father, who has forbidden Elena from visiting their child. Julia feels like a surprising turn for Erick Zonca, whose last film, The Dreamlife of Angels (1998), about the floundering of female bonds, floored audiences with sentiment. But what both films share is an intense focus on their female leads. Zonca pulls every meaningful facial twitch out of his actresses. That said, as Julia’s actions become more crazed and farfetched, the realism that director Zonca seems to have struggled to create starts to flicker. Certain moments feel like they could become either self-parodying or self-pitying, if not for Swinton’s layered deliveries and idiosyncratic movements drawing your attention. Is it really that easy to smash a car through the Mexican border? Could Stockholm syndrome really overwhelm Julia’s kidnapped victim, Tom (Aidan Gould), enough for him to see her as a mother figure within two days? Could anyone lacking experience with a gun nearly bring down a Tijuana child trafficking scheme—particularly a delusional alcoholic in heels? But Swinton’s performance dominates
the screen, helping to hide some of the film’s blunders. Julia’s such an
embodiment of selfish drives that she resembles unmistakable evil.
Plastered in fake lashes and dresses that never seem capable of holding
in her breasts, Julia is a monster. She spits at hands that offer help,
takes a free ride anywhere or anyhow she can arrange it, and blames her
misfortunes—such that she’ll admit—on everyone but herself. Not seeking
ploys for sympathy from the audience, Swinton’s repulsive character
feels authentic—her base selfishness becoming a universal trait,
something everyone can recognize if we were all to become so unhinged.
Zachary Jones
|
