Judy (2019)

Legendary performer Judy Garland arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.

Director:

Rupert Goold

Writers:

Tom Edge (screenplay by), Peter Quilter (based on the stageplay "End of the Rainbow" by)

Stars:

Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock

Won 1 Oscar. Another 22 wins & 64 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Renée Zellweger	...	Judy Garland
Jessie Buckley	...	Rosalyn Wilder
Finn Wittrock	...	Mickey Deans
Rufus Sewell	...	Sid Luft
Michael Gambon	...	Bernard Delfont
Richard Cordery	...	Louis B. Mayer
Royce Pierreson	...	Burt Rhodes
Darci Shaw	...	Young Judy
Andy Nyman	...	Dan
Daniel Cerqueira	...	Stan
Bella Ramsey	...	Lorna Luft
Lewin Lloyd	...	Joey Luft
Tom Durant Pritchard	...	Ken Frisch (as Tom Durant-Pritchard)
John Dagleish	...	Lonnie Donegan
Adrian Lukis	...	Dr Hargreaves

Storyline

Thirty years after starring in The Wizard of Oz (1939), beloved actress and singer Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in London, England to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband.

---

Plot Keywords:

concert | year 1968 | london england | ex husband ex wife relationship | sleeplessness | 

---

Taglines:

Judy Garland: the legend behind the rainbow.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, thematic content, some strong language, and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Judy meets daughter Liza Minnelli at a party, Liza mentions preparing for a show. The show in question is probably meant to be "Flora the Red Menace", a musical with songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb that was Minnelli's first Broadway show, and which won her a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a musical, though it closed after eighty-seven performances. Kander and Ebb became frequent collaborators with Minnelli.

---

Goofs

Lorna and Joey Luft were living with their father at the time movie is set.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Louis B. Mayer: What do you see beyond this wall? Picture it. You've got an imagination; go ahead. What I see is a small town in the Midwest. A handful of churches, somewhere for the farmers to get drunk together. Maybe a salon for their wives to do their hair on the holidays. I visit these places. These are the people who send us our profits. Who send us your wages. I make movies, Judy, but it's your job to give those people dreams. The economy is in the gutter, and they pay for you. And I'll ...
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in Granada Reports: 7 October 2019: Lunchtime Bulletin (2019)

---

Soundtracks

For Once in My Life
Written by Ronald Miller (as Ronald N. Miller) and Orlando Murden
Performed by Renée Zellweger
Published by Jobete Music Co Inc, Stone Diamond Music Corp.

User Reviews

Zellweger gives best performance in years

With Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland, you can not only feel her and see her, but you forget Zellweger is even there at all. Like many great performances, you see the character and forget that there is even an actor. Watching her performance is like watching a cosmic display. Some things are just meant to happen.

There have been many so-so bio-pics as of late, most comparably Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, in which another great actress, Benning, portrays the troubled last days of another great actress, Graham. Comparably, Zellweger's performance outshines the more renowned Benning. By contrast, Liverpool is also jaggedly uneven. That's not to say that Judy is perfect. Music bios are tough. Rami supposedly was great in Bohemian Rhapsody, but the film encompassed a superficial sentiment and lacked intellectual curiosity. Control, the Joy Division piece, is maybe the best in recent years... But Judy is right up there.

The story covers her last gig in London. The film uses flashbacks in order for the audience to understand her character. While most of those around her only see a washed up star, who was just forty seven.

What the story lacks in structure, it makes up with warmth. While this is a softer portrait, it still feels authentic. It finds no purpose in portraying her issues with callousness. Instead the narrative depends on Garland trying to understand herself, while making poor choice after poor choice. If you know anything about Garland, you know where she is going... But what you may not know, is she how she arrived there. It is a deeply sentimental portrait of a brilliant mind and troubled heart.

There have been some cynics saying that "Only a fool would try to play Garland." Dare, I say, Zellweger just made a fool out of you.

See this movie, it will remind you of yourself.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Judy

Filming Locations:

West London Film Studios, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,916,548, 29 September 2019

Gross USA:

$24,313,888

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$45,987,812

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé, BBC Films, Ingenious Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1