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

"Shop Around"
(W. Robinson / B. Gordy)
Performed by Sam Moore
Courtesy of Emi Music

User Reviews

Overwrought acting and a meandering storyline tank it eventually

Awkward kidnapping thriller/actress vehicle for Tilda Swinton. I love Swinton as much as the next movie lover, and for a while I was thinking that, yes, this was her shining moment. But after a while, it all seemed like a little too much. She's done a ton of subtle work over the past two decades, and she's so in your face here it just doesn't feel like the same actress. That could be a compliment, but I found her work here so overwrought. One of the problems is that a lot of the dialogue is improvised (I'm guessing), and I don't think she acquitted herself well. The plot involves a hopeless alcoholic who gets involved in a kidnapping plot. The woman who asks her to help (Kate del Castillo, just awful) is also an alcoholic. Her son was taken from her by her dead husband's father. She claims to have money to pay Swinton in Mexico. Swinton sees it as the perfect opportunity for a double cross. Later, there'll be more double crosses, probably a triple cross, and eventually the kid gets kidnapped FROM Swinton by some Mexican gangsters. It's all very meandering, and the film runs a whopping two and a half hours (at 90 minutes, it could have been very good). It's not that it's a boring film, really, it's just kind of annoying and unfocused.