DVD Review - Julia
Tilda Swinton Carries Overlooked Indie Flick Into Stunning Territory
Drew McWeeny of HitFix had an interesting piece on the matter, a sort of rebuttal to the older critical guard's recent decrying of, among many things, the disparity between critical reception and box office receipts.
McWeeny definitely hits the nail on the head by pointing out that box office revenue isn't really worth crying over (and, furthermore, implying that the general public is stupid doesn't help the situation either). Let's face it -- everyone knows the smaller art house pics rarely make much bank, especially in the summer season.
The more profitable side of indie film -- whatever vague spectrum that covers -- has turned into a contest of who can be quirkier-than-thou-yet-marketable, a la Little Miss Sunshine or Juno. So, while it's no surprise when a film like director Erick Zonca's Julia, which explores an ugly (read: not marketable) side of human nature, opens in theaters and closes in the blink of an eye, it's no less of a shame.
Not because the American public would rush out to see Julia, but there were plenty of people (this reviewer included) who never had a chance to catch the film in theaters and definitely would have liked to.
Tilda Swinton as Julia
In the second of two overlooked gems distributed by Magnolia Pictures (the first being Two Lovers), Julia is a border film in the great (if not messy) thematic tradition of Touch of Evil. Yes, Zonca's film (which he scripted along with Aude Py) involves a flight across the US-Mexican border. But Julia's characters exist on an even flimsier border line; one of questionable morality.
Tilda Swinton stars in the wholly unglamorous titular role and she nails every last snarl and stumble in Julia's self-pitying alcoholic fog. Julia stumbles in and out of bars and beds around LA, eventually finding her way into the scam of a lifetime, a big score that could finally set her straight.
Through her AA group, which Julia only attends for the sake of her sponsor, Mitch (Saul Rubinek doing some great character work), she meets a young woman looking to reclaim her son. The nervy Elena (Kate del Castillo) has had her son, Tom (Aidan Gould), taken away from her by her rich father-in-law. She needs help from Julia, who being a self-interested opportunist, hatches a plan to kidnap the son from the kidnapper.
Living Like A Runaway Train
Zonca's English language debut -- the French director hasn't had a feature for nine years -- invests a lot of time (144 minutes) in getting to know Julia, but it's mostly time well spent. She's a f--k up through and through yet Zonca and Swinton really manage to capture the humanity in this lonely, often revolting person. Because even as she lapses into cunning, backstabbing moments, Julia has a desire to do good on some level.
Tom and Julia's relationship is a fascinating one to watch unfurl. Say what you will about the likeliness of the whole scenario -- the film still meets the Hitchcock test of plot plausibility, i.e. you should be able to accept the most outrageous of narrative situations if the characters respond with emotional realism.
And things do get pretty outrageous, which Zonca manages to work to his benefit. As subtle and quietly observed as the early scenes of Julia are, the action pieces are equally thrilling and edited with a prowess of filmmaker who understands the visceral qualities of cinema as well as the importance of character.
If anything drags the film down a bit, it may be a little too much character detail. Julia is a fine pic, but the two-and-a-half hour running time isn't quite justified. Once the film really starts pulsing, it's truly thrilling. A few less scenes of Julia's groggy morning might have gone a long way.
These are the nit picky bits, though, for one of the year's more impressive outings. Awards talk at any time of the year, especially so early, seems innocuous enough. But if anyone remembers Julia, don't be surprised to see Swinton carrying a statue your or two come winter time. Whether or not anyone saw the film, Swinton has turned in one of the best performances of her career and deserves some sort of recognition.
Special Features
Not even an audio commentary track? C'mon. It's a shame to end on this down note, because the film is wonderful, but the DVD - not so much. Picture transfer and sound check out fine, but this truly is a bare bones edition. The only special feature (aside from the obligatory trailer) is a 24-minute deleted scenes reel. It's interesting enough to take a look at least once, but there's hardly anything revelatory in there.
FILM RATING: 4 out of 5 stars
SPECIAL FEATURES: What special features? 1.5 out of 5 stars
VERDICT: Really solid film. Even if the DVD extras are basically non-existent, Julia deserves a second life on home video.
Julia
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