Julia (2008/I)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Directors:

Erick Zonca
Camille Natta

Writers:

Michael Collins (adaptation)
Camille Natta (adaptation)

Release Date:

12 March 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A woman (Swinton) tries to extort money, using a young boy as bait. |

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tilda Swinton	...	Julia
Saul Rubinek	...	Mitch
Kate del Castillo	...	Elena
Aidan Gould	...	Tom
Jude Ciccolella	...	Nick
Bruno Bichir	...	Diego
Horacio Garcia Rojas	...	Santos
Kevin Kilner	...	Johnny
John Bellucci	...	Phillip
Ezra Buzzington	...	George
Roger Cudney	...	Frank
Eugene Byrd	...	Leon
Neko Parham	...	Ejay
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sally Berman	...	Woman by Car
Joe Cucuiat	...	Undercover Agent #2
Carl Dillard	...	Henry
Dave Gist	...	Fat Train Station Guy
Priscilla Leona Horne	...	Woman In Station
M.J. Karmi	...	AA Woman
Jake Koenig	...	Bartender
Camille Natta	...	Karen
Tom Poole	...	Detective
Ian Ray	...	Undercover Agent #1
Marshal Silverman	...	Commuter
Ursula Tania	...	Cooker
Tania Verafield	...	Cleaning Lady

Runtime:

Germany:138 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Country:

France | USA | Mexico | Belgium

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Les Productions Bagheera

If you missed this one at the cinemas, you'll be cursing yourself - much worse than Julia Harris

INTRO:

One weekend, some weeks back I went to the movies with friends intending to watch 'Into the Wild'. But as things go in groups, somebody had already seen it and before I knew it plans were laid to watch a film about a girl who got gets pregnant – I protested (I hadn't even read the review on IMDb!!!) but I ended up watching it anyway – the result being 'Juno' just blew me away.. the story, the acting, the dialogs and of course – the soundtrack!

Once again I was to go to the cinemas… this time I had no real choices - the other options were Jumper, 10000BC and Julia (I'd seen the other good flicks already). I knew from 'trusted sources' that Jumper sucked and 10000 BC didn't really meet our high standards ;) So it came down to Julia - I didn't know what to expect of this film.. THERE WAS NO REVIEW ON IMDb!!! BUT I got brave - maybe I'd learned a lesson after having ventured into the unknown with Juno – or maybe it was the 50% discount at the movies this weekend.. I watched Julia!

The FILM:

When I came out of the cinema I swore to myself that this would be my first movie review on IMDb – not so much for the sake of writing a review but for the fact that I'd hate to let a good film go un-noticed! And Julia is a good film, it's a very good film – for it kept me glued to the screen once I got 'into' the film – which happened about 20 minutes into the movie..

Tilda Swinton played an award-winner of a role as the ever-cursing Julia Harris, who makes it a habit of waking up, unaware of where she's been sleeping. You know, the ease with which she plays an alcoholic totally convinced me that she did drink all that vodka during the making of the film. And unlike her other films, the camera does not show her in that special way that highlights her lovely eyes supported by those high, rounded cheekbones. But you will still fall in love with her – and you will also cut down on the alcohol and cigarettes and give up any ideas of easy ransom-money.

From the kidnapper to the kid-napped Tom – played by the talented Aidan Gould starts off as a kid who is made to nap all the time, more to make it easy for Julia to manage him than to keep him from escaping. But after he has been shoved around a bit, Julia starts to learn how to handle the kid and keeps him awake a lot more, and you start to see some interaction between the two.

Julia treats Tom as a mature individual and their conversations show that the kid does have some mature ideas in his head, probably only put there by his millionaire grandfather who is also his sole guardian - but he is quite smart for his age. He also starts to display a range of emotions, more than just fear or anger. You have to see the film to realize how delicate these are. My favorite though, was the look on his face when he wakes up next to a girl one morning – I wont tell you where or with whom or how, as that would be a 'spoiler' …literally!

Well, these are the two main characters that really 'make' this film and around them you will find others playing short but not insignificant roles. I could go on to give you my observations of the characters and my guesses on their lifestyles and make psycho-social analyses. But those are the kind of reviews which restricted my imagination as I watched other films – they didn't help me so I figure it won't be good for you either my fellow movie-lover-speculator…

To sum up, the film has a simple plot that unfolds with time, there aren't any super special effects, no fancy camera-work and despite all that, it still appeals to me – like many other simple films have. Normally I'd vote for a 7 on 10 for it being so smooth, but I left the cinema thinking about other probable outcomes, as I wasn't too happy about the way it ended… It was certainly possible, but I still wished it hadn't happened – but then I wonder how else would I have made the end to this film?? For having created this conflict in me, I'd like to give this film an 8 on 10.

And for the doubtful ones out there, reading this review to make up your minds – I dedicate this, my first IMDb review to you – go for it, you won't regret it!