Review of Being Julia (2004) by Stephen M — 20 Mar 2008

It is with deep respect for and big apologies to (an actress I love) Hilary Swank; but Annette Bening should have had the Oscar for this movie. Her performance is so very nuanced and honest - and that is hard to do when an actor is playing a stage actor ON SCREEN and has to give a stage performance that actually is a stage performance but that doesn't become over the top and grotesque because there is a movie camera up your nose. That is some tricky sh*t to achieve!

And, boy howdy, is it nice to see a woman on the big screen whose face moves. OH. MY. GOD. Annette Bening has a real woman's face and when she laughs and cries, you can see how real she is - Annette AND Julia!

Her fellow players are all first rate, from her suave leading man (Irons) to the beloved character actresses Miriam Margolyes and Juliet Stevenson. Michael Gambon is as delicious as ever, Bruce Greenwood MORE delicious than ever before; and it is so exciting to see three gorgeous young actors who are also extremely adept at their work: Shaun Evans, Lucy Punch and Shaun Evans. It is worth nothing that the legendary Rosemary Harris appears in this film as Benning's mother and that the gorgeous curtain call boy in the film is the son of Jeremy Irons.

The art and set direction, as well as the costumes, are thrillingly lush, as well as historically accurate; and Mychael Danna's score is the perfect accent for this completely perfect film adaptation of Maugham's story, originally called THEATER.

For me, this film is worth it for the onstage sabotage scene and the last soulful, solitary scene in which the camera lingers on Bening's beautiful face for what seems like a blissful eternity.

If you have the dvd, the commentary is good for factual knowledge and behind the scenes details.