Julia (2008)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Erick Zonca

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:

One Word Title | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

US Showtimes:

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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

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, some violent content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

France | USA | Mexico | Belgium

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:16 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 | France:U (with warning)

Filming Locations:

Laguna Salada, Mexicali, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Company:

Les Productions Bagheera

Trivia:

In real life, Tilda Swinton, who plays an alcoholic in the film, cannot drink. She says she would fall asleep after having just one glass.

Soundtrack:

El Picador

Could have been better but enjoyable.

Let me ask you a question - what do you think when you hear the name Tilda Swinton? The White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe? The wife in Burn After Reading? For me, the wonderful Ms. Swinton is the mysterious thespian who, for many years, dominated Art-House cinema before springing into the more mainstream audiences in late 2005 when she played the villainess in C.S Lewis's classic and then – two years later - achieved her more irremovable status in January, 2008 when she picked up the award for Best Supporting Actress in Michael Clayton.

Less than a year later, here she is – returning to her art-house ancestry; playing the title character in 'Julia'; a 40-something Californian alcoholic whose pitiful life consists of cigarettes, liquor and endless one night stands. One morning, at an AA Meeting, she meets Elena (Kate del Castillo) a troubled Hispanic woman who – desperate to reignite her relationship with her estranged young son – offers her a proposition she simply cannot refuse: $50,000 – in exchange for her assistance in the kidnap of her son. Before long, Julia and her young hostage (11-year-old, Adian Gould) are driving across America and then through Mexican deserts and Favelas, with the police and the boy's rich grandfather's influential associates not far behind … The majority of Julia is a one-woman's show – with Tilda (despite my limited knowledge of her career) remaining on Academy-Award-Worthy top-form. Shedding her upper-class English background and abandoning her natural elegancy; she successfully adopts the rough working-class mannerisms and an uncannily-authentic volatile demeanour (possibly borrowed from Charlize Theron's performance in 'Monster') that combine together to make Julia Harris – quite possibly – one of the most authentic alcoholics in recent cinema history. Though she does dominate nearly every scene of the entire film, she is supported strongly by a list of fairly unknown stars including Kate del Castillo, Saul Rubinek, Horacio Garcia Rojas and, in particular, Aidan Gould. I do admittedly have a slight aversion to child-actors but here Erick Zonca (writer and director) exploits a bit of raw talent which – weakly – takes some of the limelight away from Tilda in each scene.

Julia's major floor would be the more theoretical side. Though Zonca does indeed direct with competence - making good-use of the on-location scenery (particularly in the second half of the film) - the script suffers from a few notable errors. For instance – the first half of the film follows Julia preparing for this kidnapping. Then a few short scenes establish the inevitable bond between her and the boy, but then - the film almost changes completely. It was almost as if – halfway through writing the script – Zonca watched City of God and decided to combine Julia with elements of a South American gangster film or something. In a long-winded fashion (without giving away an spoilers) what I'm trying to say is that the narrative changes halfway through the film – from an original American thriller to a Mexican crime/thriller, baring subtle similarities to the works of Fernando Meirelles, that – to be frank – are just unnecessary. A few needless subplots and unanswered questions don't help the film's closure either.

None the less the acting from Swinton and Gould to help boost the film's overall effect; as does a great list of post-production techniques, including a diverse soundtrack, subtle-but-effective SFX and a nice, original opening-sequence. It'd be nice to see this get a few Oscar/Golden-Globe nods in the foreign cinema-department next January. Though I shan't hold my breath – what with it competing with the likes of Il y a longtemps que je t'aime and Gomorra, two other successful foreign films that seem to be already sweeping up various awards.

'Julia' is a 15 certificate, 144 minutes long and contains strong language and scenes of violence.