Review of Being Julia (2004) by La L — 11 Feb 2005

October 15, 2004.

[color=#990000][color=#ffeecc][i]Julia: Michael and I are always separated from each other. Why do you think we have such a good marriage? [/i][/color][/color].

[b][size=5][color=#990000]A[/color][/size][/b]nd that's the kind of world Julia Lambert really does live in, and she is perhaps the only person in her world who's not aware of it. Julia is a prominent stage actress in London. The year is 1938 and Julia's been performing the same play for almost a year. She cries out to her husband that she needs a holiday, but that all changes when she meets a handsome young American named Tom (that's T-O-M). Not only does Tom recharge her vitality for the theater, but also her libido, so much so that she can hardly sustain her composure and not break out into frenetic giggling.

"Being Julia" is basically the story of one woman's coming of middle age and realizing it's time for her to take control. Julia (Annette Bening) is beautiful, talented and greatly admired, yet also somewhat controlled, by the theater community. Her husband, Michael (Jeremy Irons), insists she continue performing for the sake of business, but Julia is in dire need of a fresh change. She finds that in Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans), a strapping, immature American who fell in love with her after he saw her on Broadway. At first, Julia resists Tom's charm, but then tries to keep their relationship going more than he does. He has his eyes set on the up-and-coming Avice Crichton (Lucy Punch), a naive actress who'd die to be in one of Julia's plays.

The film is not so much about the characters' fidelity to each other as it is about Julia's fidelity to herself. As her son Roger (Tom Sturridge) makes clear, Julia lives in a world of make believe. She is always acting and living her life according to the convenience of others. That's probably why she still imagines her old mentor, Jimmy Langton (Michael Gambon), who's been dead for 15 years, giving her stage directions in real life. She's reached a point when she must start facing the truth, starting with her relationships with her husband and friends. What those truths are and how Julia discovers them is part of the fun of the movie. To take matters into her own hands, for once, Julia exacts an overdue revenge and yet it's not targeted at one person, but everyone, and the circumstances that put her in this position.

Annette Bening is droll and bewitching in the lead. In some weird way, she's able to put together characteristics that shouldn't fit together, but somehow do, into a likable character. We care for her and want her to succeed, and in a puzzling way we don't want all of the other characters to suffer. What must happen to Julia must happen to her alone, and Bening allows it to. It's funny, but we don't walk away from the film feeling as though anyone got what they deserved, nor didn't. What happens is, simply, inevitable for the characters to go on living.

And yet, "Being Julia" doesn't reach beyond its limits. It's content with being just good enough. With the talent involved, I wonder if a greater film lived within the film's being. For instance, Jeremy Irons seems underused. He's sharp and ironic, able to maintain a deceptive grin and dialogue without growing stale. I wish the film devoted more time to him.

What the film could have dealt less with is Tom. I have not seen Shaun Evans in any other film, but he doesn't make a very good impression here. Even though he plays a character we're supposed to dislike, the way he plays Tom is less likable than Tom himself. He's unconvincing, most notably in the way he delivers his dialogue. When we go to the movies and hate a character (the warden in "The Shawshank Redemption," played ferociously by Bob Gunton, comes to mind), I don't think the actor should draw attention to him or herself. I could spend all day with a grotesque and reprehensible character, but not if the actor in the role possesses the same qualities.

Bening remains the best part of "Being Julia." She alone is enough to recommend the film. While many were fascinated by her performance in "American Beauty," I was always aware it was Annette Bening acting. I felt the same about Kevin Spacey. Here, though, I was not so much aware. "Being Julia" shows that Bening has still got it - the ability to disappear. Too bad the film isn't as bold and energetic as she is. Another film about the theater to come out this year was "Stage Beauty," which took place in 1600's London. Billy Crudup played an actor playing a woman who, like Julia, was unable to identify his true self. That was a better film. This is a good one.