FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
Directed by: István Szabó. Produced by: Robert Lantos. Written by: Ronald Harwood, based on the novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham. Director of Photography: Lajos Koltai. Edited by: Susan Shipton. Music by: Mychael Danna. Released by: Sony Pictures Classics. Language: English. Country of Origin: Canada/USA/Hungary/UK. 105 min. Rated: R. With: Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Bruce Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson, Shaun Evans, Rosemary Harris & Rita Tushingham. DVD Features: Commentary by Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons & István Szabó. Making-of featurette. Behind-the-scenes featurette. Deleted scenes.
Annette Bening is terrifically sublime as Julia Lambert, reigning theatrical diva of 1930’s
London. She is at the pinnacle of her career, and she and her husband/producer Michael (Jeremy
Irons) enjoy the comforts of their wealth, but Julia is oh, so bored. Her relationship with Michael
is more like a friendship than a marriage, and she realizes she is reaching “a certain age” when
woman are regrettably no longer considered beautiful.
Eager to take a holiday, Julia asks Michael to close their hit play at the end of the month. She
quickly changes her tune, however, the moment Tom (Shaun Evans), a handsome young
American gentleman, enters her life. Julia relishes the attention she receives from Tom, who
declares himself her greatest fan. Even though he is barely older than her son, Julia can’t help but
give in to temptation. Julia, swooning from their passionate affair, becomes as giddy as a
schoolgirl.
As a result of this sexual rebirth, Bening truly begins to shine. Although it may seem like a cliché
- older woman falls for younger man and is rejuvenated - Bening plays Julia with such a sense of
vitality that each time the camera closes in on her face, she's mesmerizing. But after a
once-enthralled Tom sets his sights on one of Julia’s houseguests, a young aspiring actress, Julia
becomes a woman scorned. Using her new play as a weapon, she revises the script so that no one
is left unscathed as she triumphs in her revenge. The bittersweet Being Julia is witty and
wholly enjoyable. Tanya Chesterfield
DVD Extras: Since Being Julia is such an exceptional picture, it is a shame that
its
special features are short and unsatisfying. The behind-the-scenes chapter
features comments from actors, the director and screenwriter, which
give no fresh insight to the movie. The making-of featurette shows the
production in action, but the director's comments to his cast and crew are
inaudible over the movie’s soundtrack. The only explanation of
what is going on is an occasional subtitle. The deleted scenes, however, are
fascinating to see as Bening shines in them as she does in the movie. There are
four scenes including a hilarious one where Julia is trying to pick up a man
and another where she is sitting in the theater before her show opens.
Accompanying the film is an uninteresting commentary by
Bening, Irons and Szabó where such odds and ends are discussed as the lighting on the set
and Irons’ unsatisfaction with his acting. Lauren Hines
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