guisreis Review of Miss Julie

Miss Julie (2014)

The first 40 minutes are succeeded by inconsistency, but Jessica Chastain is awesome

[6/10 · 28 November 2023]

Adapted from a play, the film does have a very theater-like mood, portraying just three characters, besides a dog (well, and a yellow bird) and an unseen mob (and an unseen and unheard baron), with dialogues that not always fit naturally. The first 40 minutes portray an intriguing cruel game between the daughter of the owner of the estate and a servant, a game where passion, class, deeds, appearances, everything are interwined. However, although the film kept that very uncomfortable atmosphere, the duel became quite inconsistent, and consequently less engaging. Except for the nice lines of his fiancée, at 1h30, characters behave in too contradictory ways, which make no sense in my opinion even considering increasingly appearant madness of Miss Julie. Despite all those problems, I cannot help but mention that Jessica Chastain has a powerful performance in very different moments, in a broad range varying from femme fatale to lunatic.