'Julia' review

Tilda Swinton like you've never seen her before—a full on hot mess

By Geoff Berkshire

Posted May 7, 2009

Metromix

Aging alcoholic Julia (Tilda Swinton) finds herself out of a job and hard up for cash when she’s approached by the mentally unstable Elena (Kate del Castillo) at an AA meeting. Elena is willing to pay Julia a whole lot of money if she’ll help kidnap Elena’s son Tom (Aidan Gould) away from his rich grandfather. Although Julia agrees, she has another idea: to keep the kid for herself and score a hefty ransom. Of course, things don’t go as smoothly as she’d like.

The buzz: The first feature length film from French director Erick Zonca since his terrific 1998 debut, “The Dreamlife of Angels,” is inspired by the work of John Cassavetes, particularly “Gloria,” which followed a gangster’s moll trying to protect a young boy from the mob. Zonca’s effort gets a further boost from the Oscar winning Swinton, who seems determined to carve out one of the most interesting careers for an actress in the history of film.

The verdict: Intensely melodramatic, wildly unpredictable and thoroughly exhausting, “Julia” is a larger than life movie anchored by Swinton’s larger than life performance. Casting off her trademark icy resolve, Swinton sinks her teeth into a character whose life and behavior careen dangerously out of control. She’s on screen for nearly every second of this two-and-a-quarter-hour-plus film and it’s a startling star turn indeed. Zonca boldly refuses to whitewash Julia’s behavior—she performs some truly heinous acts—and follows a compelling emotional ambiguity all the way to the ending, which neither punishes nor fully redeems the main character. Like Julia herself, Zonca’s film races from manic highs to what-are-they-thinking lows, and it’s never easy to shake off.

Did you know? Swinton’s performance became a rare English language turn nominated for best actress at France’s César awards.