Julia (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Julia', directed by Fred Zinnemann, & based on an autobiography, follows Lillian Hellman's (Jane Fonda) close friendship with Julia (Vanessa Redgrave), a childhood classmate she meets in 1918 who is wealthy, attractive, smart, & confident. Julia helps Lillian gain a sense of self by giving her constant confirmation of her worth. Then Julia goes abroad to Oxford, followed by intense medical studies in Vienna, Austria. Lillian, meanwhile, is in the U.S., trying to write her 1st play. Her lover is eccentric writer Dashiell Hammett (Jason Robards). And during a dry spell/writer's block, she decides to leave her beach house & head for Paris, France where she hopes to meet up with Julia; who is now a socialist whose battling the urgencies of the Nazi regime.
One night, Lillian receives a call telling her that Julia has been physically assaulted by some Nazis. She hurries to the hospital & realizes that Julia has been risking her life for her staunch beliefs. Yrs. later, after the opening of one of her plays, Lillian stops in Paris on her way to a writer's conference in Russia. She is visited by one of Julia's compatriots (Maximilian Schell) who has a message -- they need her to deliver $50,000 of Julia's $$ to Berlin; where the "resistance" will use it to gain freedom for political prisoners. And the mission almost does Lillian in; she's not used to the terror that Julia has already faced. A brief reunion in a smoky Berlin pub draws the 2 women close. It's the 1st time since their cherished childhood that they're able to enjoy each other in person - but it would also be their last.
I like that this film shows an affecting portrait of friendship btwn. 2 women. The bonds they establish as children continues, evolves, & strengthens over the yrs.. Jane Fonda's Lillian is a complex woman with smarts, stubborness, difficulty handling success, & a knack for getting mixed up in dangerous situations. Vanessa Redgrave's Julia shines because she is able to exude inward courage; not only with what she says, but how she acts. Redgrave shows us a woman of heroic stature; standing up to enormous pressures. Perhaps that's what the real Lillian Hellman referred to when she wrote: "The world seems so divided into people who get so much for giving nothing & those who get nothing & give so much". And so, while this movie depicts the strength that female friendship can bring, 'Julia' is also a tribute to a courageous woman who gave so much of herself for a greater cause.
Though I enjoyed this film, I feel that the script is the weakest part. My complaint is that: for a film about something as big as it is, I felt that a few too many scenes lacked a certain strength, energy, or substantiality (based on the subject matter). But my complaints pretty much stop there. The Douglas Slocombe's cinematography is simply beautiful. Ditto the authentic locales, sets, period costumes, & musical score. Everything culminates to provide a lovely visual, aural, & cerebral experience. Fonda & Redgrave give awards-worthy performances; particularly Redgrave in the supporting, yet titular role. Young Meryl Streep makes an impact in a small role. And Jason Robards gives the right mixture of tenderness & cynicism as Dashiell. Good film.
One night, Lillian receives a call telling her that Julia has been physically assaulted by some Nazis. She hurries to the hospital & realizes that Julia has been risking her life for her staunch beliefs. Yrs. later, after the opening of one of her plays, Lillian stops in Paris on her way to a writer's conference in Russia. She is visited by one of Julia's compatriots (Maximilian Schell) who has a message -- they need her to deliver $50,000 of Julia's $$ to Berlin; where the "resistance" will use it to gain freedom for political prisoners. And the mission almost does Lillian in; she's not used to the terror that Julia has already faced. A brief reunion in a smoky Berlin pub draws the 2 women close. It's the 1st time since their cherished childhood that they're able to enjoy each other in person - but it would also be their last.
I like that this film shows an affecting portrait of friendship btwn. 2 women. The bonds they establish as children continues, evolves, & strengthens over the yrs.. Jane Fonda's Lillian is a complex woman with smarts, stubborness, difficulty handling success, & a knack for getting mixed up in dangerous situations. Vanessa Redgrave's Julia shines because she is able to exude inward courage; not only with what she says, but how she acts. Redgrave shows us a woman of heroic stature; standing up to enormous pressures. Perhaps that's what the real Lillian Hellman referred to when she wrote: "The world seems so divided into people who get so much for giving nothing & those who get nothing & give so much". And so, while this movie depicts the strength that female friendship can bring, 'Julia' is also a tribute to a courageous woman who gave so much of herself for a greater cause.
Though I enjoyed this film, I feel that the script is the weakest part. My complaint is that: for a film about something as big as it is, I felt that a few too many scenes lacked a certain strength, energy, or substantiality (based on the subject matter). But my complaints pretty much stop there. The Douglas Slocombe's cinematography is simply beautiful. Ditto the authentic locales, sets, period costumes, & musical score. Everything culminates to provide a lovely visual, aural, & cerebral experience. Fonda & Redgrave give awards-worthy performances; particularly Redgrave in the supporting, yet titular role. Young Meryl Streep makes an impact in a small role. And Jason Robards gives the right mixture of tenderness & cynicism as Dashiell. Good film.