Sometimes I Feel Like I Am Julia!

I remember hearing about Being Julia when it came out last year, but then I didn’t hear anything more about it. I happened upon it on the library movie list and decided to take a chance on it. Although it isn’t the type of movie I typically enjoy, it turned out to be quite interesting.

Despite my enjoyment by the end, the beginning of Being Julia is probably one of the most meandering plots I have ever watched. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be a single plot, just a series of wanderings by this character Julia. That may be the point, but it doesn’t make it that entertaining.

Juila is a popular actress on the London stage before the start of WWII. Despite her continued popularity, she is aging (like Annette Bening herself) and feels as if she needs a major change. In fact, she wants to quit acting altogether, at least for a while, and her husband, played by Jeremy Irons, doesn’t want her to because they would lose a ton of money invested in the play. Basically, she is in a mid-life crisis where she has everything she wants and still doesn’t know what she wants. I generally respond to this plot because it seems to be what we all go through. It’s a bit demoralizing when the person is so wealthy, however, and acts just plain spoiled. In fact, I tend to have no sympathy for those people. It’s mean I know, for we’re all human, and we all have the same basic intangible wants, such as true appreciation and love and security, along with interesting conversations and good music (alright, I added those in). But sometimes the rich seem to have it made, and if they don’t appreciate that fact, they should give me some of their money. Maybe that will make them feel better. Of course no one ever gives me any of their money, though, so everyone just stays miserable.

For Julia, her misery lasts until the young American male comes along, and the movie slides into a glorification of adultery. Here, the film tries to make this okay by suggesting that the husband is okay with it. I’m not quite sure if that’s true, but whatever—it’s still weird. Things don’t work out with the young man, and I’m not giving anything away here, because everyone knows it won’t, except for Julia, who thinks she has fallen in love with him.

And that’s when the real plot begins, over half-way through the film. The turn it takes here is interesting and quite enjoyable. I won’t give this part away because it is a surprise, and a good one at that. This is where the movie and its characters redeem themselves, and it makes this otherwise muddy, mediocre drama quite enjoyable. All of the actors in the film are excellent, but if the plot had not taken this turn, I probably would have hated this movie.

But because it did turn, Being Julia gets a 6.