Review of Julieta (2016) by Matt C — 13 Feb 2017

In the world of storytelling, melodrama is so often used as a bad word, implying hackneyed dialogue and excessive performances to compliment idealized scenarios. Not Julieta, though; this is melodrama done right.

Being bolstered by great performances across the board and very well paced, this movie works because of the non-manipulative ways in which it deals with universal themes, making for a meditation on loss and loneliness with just enough of an underlying sense of tragedy.

The movie follows the present-day titular character (Emma Suárez) as she writes a letter to her grown daughter Antía reflecting on her own life, including meeting her husband Xoan (Daniel Grao), their relationship, and the conception and childhood of Antía and the circumstances that strained their relationship.

Largely told in a flashback, younger Julieta is played by Adriana Ugarte. It's often hard to buy multiple actors playing the same character at different points in their lives, but the casting and editing in Julieta makes the passage of time feel seamless.

Actors resemble each other in terms of physicality and mannerisms, and the editing progresses through the plot in an way that never draws attention to itself. Everything feels like a swirling retrospective of the main character's life, with Pedro Almodóvar's direction maintaining a sullen tone without making for one that's oppressive enough to mess with the pacing.

At 96 minutes, the movie moves smoothly. What took me back more than I anticipated, though, was the way in which the movie dealt with its themes. Now, this movie had a trailer that didn't really tell you much of anything about the story, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but when we have here is a look at one woman's relationships in her personal life and how loneliness affects them in one way or another.

Once the movie began to take shape, I anticipated the movie falling apart by treating the material in too obvious a manner, but it really does hold the perspective of its protagonist. Nothing is sensationalized; in fact, a few events feel desensitized because they're being looked back on, and it fits the tone greatly.

The resolution felt a bit too tidy for me, but it wasn't something that unraveled what preceded it or felt like something out of a different movie. What the movie was saying was clear, and for that I am thankful.

Julieta provides a well written character at the forefront of its drama while allowing the viewer to project their own insecurities and emotional fears, utilizing a first-person perspective to very good effect.

The acting is strong from everyone and the different times that the story spans make for a cohesive package. Almodóvar's maturity along with the stillness of Jean-Claude Larrieu's cinematography create a mood in which the emotions being recounted are dimmed until the ending, as fitfully understated as it is.

8.5/10, great, B+, definitely above average, etc.