BEING JULIA
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: A well-produced look at the London stage in
pre-war London, based on a novella by Somerset Maugham.
The characters may not be as endearing as intended.
Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10
Based on Somerset Maugham's novella "Theater," BEING JULIA
presents a portrait of London's dramatic community in 1938. The
film centers on the affairs--literally and figuratively--of Julia
Lambert (played by Annette Bening in flawless British accent) in
this story the great star of the London stage. Julia is burning
out on her acting career and threatens to leave the stage, but is
revitalized by a visiting American fan Tom Fennell (Shaun Evans).
She decides to seduce Tom, cheating on her long since platonic
husband (Jeremy Irons in a good but disappointingly secondary
role). Bruce Greenwood plays a close friend long falsely assumed
by all to be Julia's paramour.
Maugham creates some rich characterizations that are engaging and
credible though not always likable. Julia is known to never stop
acting, as everyone notices. But she is clever in the ways she
finds ways to work her will on other people. In her tightly knit
acting community people rarely can fool each other for long,
though they frequently try. Julia imagines advice from her
deceased former mentor (the always-excellent Michael Gambon).
One problem American viewers will have is that the plays are acted
in an affected dramatic style, since abandoned. While the viewer
is expected to recognize when acting is good or bad, because of
the stentorian style it may never seem good. There seem to be
serious logic flaws with the climax of the film, but I will not
reveal them to avoid plot spoiling.
The film was shot in large part in Hungary, which can still be
made to look like pre-war London. (Presumably it would be
hopeless to try with the real London.) Look for one remarkable
scene early in the film where with one look Miriam Margolyes as
Dolly defines her character and her relation to Julia. [-mrl]
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
Copyright 2004 Mark R. Leeper
==========
X-RAMR-ID: 38811
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1327048
X-RT-TitleID: 10002492
X-RT-AuthorID: 1309
X-RT-RatingText: 7/10
NOTE: This review was posted on the usenet
to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup.
Mooviees.com accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review.
Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Movie Database
In Theaters
