Review of Julie & Julia (2009) by Julie M — 20 Nov 2018

"Julie & Julia" released in 2009 follows Julie, a government employee who decides to blog about cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook as a way of escaping her mundane life. The film made me feel mixed emotions.

I was hopefully for Julie in her conquest, however, I felt sad for her when Julia didn't support it. It made me think that it is possible to get noticed by your heroes in that Julie was able to achieve it! As a romantic comedy, the film doesn't completely fit the stereotype of the genre as it doesn't follow the romantic love of a couple, rather it follows another kind of love and admiration.

Written by Nora Ephron, one of my favorite sequences was when Julia and her husband are hosting friends for Valentine's Day and are talking about how they first met. It says so much about their characters and their love for each other while saying so little.

Directed by Nora Ephron, I enjoyed the way that she chose to depict playing up Julia's height. There is a scene in the film when Julia is chopping a huge pile of onions and the counter in their flat is quite obviously so much smaller than her.

She hovers over it as she chops, which is quite comical! Edited by Richard Marks, I particularly enjoyed the beginning montage of Julie and Julia's setting up their new lives. Through the series of shots, you can see them both adapting to the idiosyncrasies of their new homes and cities.

It sets up the story really well and allows you to relate to them and see the parallels between the two of them. With Meryl Streep and Amy Adams leading the cast, the acting in the film is effortlessly wonderful.

Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci are my favorite duo in the film, as they're so infectious together. I especially enjoyed the scene where they're discussing what Julia should do with her free time.

There was such an ease between the two of them that is so joyful to watch. As cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt sets the stage for each character, my favorite introduction is when we meet Julia's sister.

All of a sudden, this tall woman appears out of a huge fog of smoke. It creates this great build up to the character reveal and adds a humor to it, especially considering she's a tall woman and would be hard to miss.

The sound design overall was great. The only thing that I felt was missing was that I would have appreciated if the sound was altered a little when they show flashbacks to Julia's cooking show. The sound quality wouldn't have been as great back then and it would have been a nice touch for the show to represent its time.

Likewise, I would have enjoyed if the production value reflected that. As it is, everything looks so pristine, and I would have enjoyed more of an aesthetic distinction between Julie and Julia's worlds.