Julia (2008)

A woman tries to extort money, using a young boy as bait.

Director:

Erick Zonca

Writers:

Roger Bohbot (adaptation), Michael Collins (adaptation),

Stars:

Tilda Swinton, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tilda Swinton	...	Julia
Saul Rubinek	...	Mitch
Kate del Castillo	...	Elena
Aidan Gould	...	Tom
Jude Ciccolella	...	Nick
Bruno Bichir	...	Diego
Horacio Garcia Rojas	...	Santos
Mauricio Moreno	...	José
Gaston Peterson	...	Miguel (as Gastón Peterson)
Kevin Kilner	...	Johnny
John Bellucci	...	Phillip
Ezra Buzzington	...	George
Roger Cudney	...	Frank
Eugene Byrd	...	Leon
Sandro Kopp	...	Marcus

Storyline

Julia is a drunk. She loses her job in real estate and at an A.A. meeting meets a neighbor, Elena, an addled Mexican woman who talks about having lots of money and a plan to kidnap her own son from the boy's grandfather, a wealthy businessman. Elena wants Julia's help. Julia says yes with her own plan to do this alone. Following Elena's plan, Julia manages to grab the boy, Tom, who's about 10. Now what? She asks for a ransom. Tom's grandfather and his money are connected directly to Mexican drug trafficking, so Julia is up against long odds. Will anyone make it out alive?

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Plot Keywords:

boy | money | neighbor | meeting | aa meeting | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some violent content and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

France USA Mexico Belgium

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

12 March 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Apagogi horis antikrysma

Filming Locations:

Four Aces - 14499 E. Avenue Q, Palmdale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,524 (USA) (8 May 2009)

Gross:

$64,482 (USA) (31 July 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Productions Bagheera, Le Bureau, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life, Tilda Swinton, who plays an alcoholic in the film, cannot drink. She says she would fall asleep after having just one glass.

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Goofs

The motel scenes in which Julia holds Tom captive that are supposed to be set in California have non-American electrical outlets, revealing the scenes' Mexican location.

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Quotes

Julia: And it's time *my* luck changed. And it's time something went right for *me*!

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Connections

Referenced in Teen Wolf: The Tell (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Train Station"
Composed by Darius Keeler and Pollard Berries

User Reviews

So real and graphic and unsettling it's gripping and terrific--and terrifying

Julia (2008)

A hard edged tale of a woman pushed by her own desperation into crimes over her head. Tilda Swinton lets it rip here, in a vivid, color, cinema-verite style that depends as much on making you uneasy as anything. The characters are so believable, and the sequence of events stumbles along with such perfect inelegance (to say the least), you hate to see it all because what happens is pretty awful.

The ground covered is a believable version of what an ordinary person with seemingly good moral structure is driven to by circumstance. In this case, it's about being pushed by her own sorry life to do something that breaks out of it. But it also begins as a curious compassion, a genuine skepticism overwhelmed by the possibilities. By thinking, why not? And of course, why not then becomes all too clear. It's this sense that it could by a stretch happen to you or me (hopefully not, but in theory) that gives the movie its chilling penetration.

And the ending, as sensational as it gets, is a logical outcome of where we began, and there is a kind of victory, but it's no Hollywood ending, and that's a huge relief. Rather, it's as if you went along with a woman for the adventure of her life and it's the real thing, nothing held back, including disbelief, fear, violence, and sometimes, thankfully, a glimmer of hope. Very very well made--acting, writing, filming--but not everyone's cup of tea because it is so unsettling.