Julia

Eric Zonca directed the sublime 'The Dream Life of Angels', a beautiful story of female friendship and existential despair. 'Julia', his first film for 9 years, is equally powerful, but much less charming. Tilda Swinton is great as Julia, but her character is absolutely unlikeable; the plot, meanwhile, though harrowing, in places strains credibility, especially in its portrait of Mexico as a literal hell on earth. Yet Zonca's talent is also on display, and the story commands your attention in spite of its unpleasantness. The ending is ambiguous, potentially interpretable as redemptive, but not clearly so. I'm not sure this is a great film; I am sure I want to see more from this director.

I could not like this film more. Yes, it's messy. Yes, it's extreme... but it is precisely for these reasons that I adore it. In this age of one slick, bland, impeccably crafted and neutered blockbuster suppository after the other and at a time when so-called independent films are so often just show reels for wanna-be future suppository crafters, this is a breath of pure, animalistic, delightfully anarchic, fresh air. It is truly cinematic, ambitious, original and brilliant. The dialogue is a bit weak in places and it feels like it was edited in a rush, but those are my only complaints. Swintons performance is full of fantasy and compassion and anyone who has ever spent time around hard-core drinkers will know that it is 100% realistic. The entire experience of watching this film is like a binge weekend for the viewer: All threads unravel, reason becomes skewed and when sobriety finally kicks in, you are left with nothing. I was swept along in a complete state of reverie and found myself breathless and wishing it could go on longer when it ended. The colourful mix of characters and landscapes are beautifully framed and lit. The whole thing is like a bizarre European fairytale of what America is like. Oscars for best Actress and cinematography please!

I have been an admirer of Tilda Swinton,since I first saw her in some of Derek Jarman's films,and moving on to acting in some mighty toothsome film fare after Jarman's untimely death due to complications from AIDS. Not only can she take on some roles in what could be considered "difficult" films,but she can fake an American accent quite well. Erick Zonka ('The Dreamlife Of Angels',The Little Thief') directs & co writes the screenplay (with Aude Py)about a self destructive 40 something,full blown alcoholic party girl,named Julia who's party girl days should have been behind her years ago. When she is ordered to attend an AA meeting by one of her best friends (played by veteran Canadian actor,Saul Rubinek), she meets up with a psychologically disturbed woman named Elena (played to the max by Kate Del Castillo),who wants Julia to kidnap her eight year old son from her Grandfather. Julia,with nothing to lose (and equally nothing to gain)is at first reluctant to go along with this scheme,but eventually goes along for the ride. What transpires is a botched kidnapping that goes from bad to worse to truly unbearable. Toss in an unintended trip to Mexico,and watch the fire get turned up to full 10. Comparisons to John Cassavete's film, 'Gloria' will be noted. Rated 'R'by the MPAA,this film contains pervasive raunchy language (both in English & Spanish),adult content & nudity & graphic,bloody violence. Leave the kiddies home

Julia (2008)

A hard edged tale of a woman pushed by her own desperation into crimes over her head. Tilda Swinton lets it rip here, in a vivid, color, cinema-verite style that depends as much on making you uneasy as anything. The characters are so believable, and the sequence of events stumbles along with such perfect inelegance (to say the least), you hate to see it all because what happens is pretty awful.

The ground covered is a believable version of what an ordinary person with seemingly good moral structure is driven to by circumstance. In this case, it's about being pushed by her own sorry life to do something that breaks out of it. But it also begins as a curious compassion, a genuine skepticism overwhelmed by the possibilities. By thinking, why not? And of course, why not then becomes all too clear. It's this sense that it could by a stretch happen to you or me (hopefully not, but in theory) that gives the movie its chilling penetration.

And the ending, as sensational as it gets, is a logical outcome of where we began, and there is a kind of victory, but it's no Hollywood ending, and that's a huge relief. Rather, it's as if you went along with a woman for the adventure of her life and it's the real thing, nothing held back, including disbelief, fear, violence, and sometimes, thankfully, a glimmer of hope. Very very well made--acting, writing, filming--but not everyone's cup of tea because it is so unsettling.

Who gives us a truly remarkable, all-out, Oscar-worthy, showcase performance as a living-in-denial, abrasive-mouthed, fortyish and usually sporting that oh-so-disheveled-buy- me-a-few-drinks-and -I'll-go-home-with-you -but-won't-remember- or-care-in-the-morning- out-and-out-lush-look...with serious stability/maturity issues...And that, ladies and gentlemen, pretty much sums it up!

Swinton practically carries the whole movie on her more-often-than-not -slipping-out-of-her-dress shoulders! JULIA, both the movie and most of all, the character, will continue to ricochet around your brain, tumultuously, long after you've reached the credits. KUDOS to Ms. Swinton! Even before her Oscar winning role as the anal-retentive executive you love to hate in "Michael Clayton", she seemed like a very competent actor...and, of course, afterwards, a truly excellent one. With her ground-breaking, perhaps best of the year, performance in JULIA, there can be absolutely no doubt her acting skills are nothing short of legendary! The only other actor who could hold her own on camera with Swinton was Kate del Castillo (Under the Same Moon), who turns in a brief but incredibly intense performance as the disturbed mother.

JULIA, the character, reminds me of how the Supreme Court used to define pornography, "Totally and utterly devoid of any redeeming social value". What is truly mystical about Ms. Swinton's performance is that despite portraying a detestable and neurotically unpredictable human being, she manages to plant a seed of expectation and compassion in the viewer's mind. Throughout the film, there is a flicker of hope that, somehow, someway, things will manage to right themselves. JULIA certainly manages to pull the proverbial rug out from under your feet on more than one occasion. My hands are tied when it comes to discussing the final 3 or 4 minutes of the film.(NO SP___LERS HERE, NO SIREE!) but you absolutely mustn't give up on JULIA beforehand. Please, be patient! Everything hinges on that final scene! Soon afterwards, upon reflection, the real implications will remind you that things aren't always what they seem! Immediately after viewing JULIA, 6****** was my initial reaction. After all my cerebral dust has settled, JULIA rates a rock-solid 8********! DEC.29-21.