User reviews

Tom Sturridge in a lovely performance as Roger, Julia's son, puts it beautifully in a soft confrontation with his mother. "You're playing, mother, or playing wife..." Yes, acting as a way of life as a way of being. Tricky. Ronald Harwood can write the ins and outs of theatrical life better than any living soul - remember "The Dresser? - This is not any way near as good or as insightful but is charming and fun. Lilli Palmer played the part back in the 60's in "Adorable Julia" and she was adorable indeed as is Annette Bening in a tour de force performance with regular interruptions to give plenty of space to the trade mark Bening giggle. Shaun Evans plays the young man, the object of Julia's desire, her frustrating emotional holiday and I must admit, that's the one element that should have sizzle instead of fizzle. Shaun Evans is a good actor but it doesn't have anything that would make us understand the folly attraction that awakes in Julia. He plays an American but appears bland, as bland as a British actor can be when he's bland. I longed for a Billy Crudup or someone younger, a Brad Renfro. Can you imagine what the movie would have been like with a Heath Ledger in that part? Unless, of course, the whole thing was intentional to underline Julia's absurdity. An actress on the verge of a nervous break down. Comparasions with "All About Eve" are ridiculous. That would be like comparing "One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest" with "The Couch Trip"

I approached this film strictly by way of word of mouth. Reviews and blurbs went over my head. I haven't read Maughm (sp?) in years and forgot what I may have read. I went into the theater with a clean slate. Ms.Benning displays an awesome range of technique, but that doesn't describe her or the film. She was able to draw me within her to sense her triumphs and doubts, and challenges, all of which appeared and felt quite real to me.

In the hands of others this picture might easily have fallen into soap, surely with its "come-upance" finale, all quite expected and predictable, I thought. Still, having said that I was totally absorbed by Ms Benning and her surrounding players all of whom added to the vitality of her performance without negating or diluting their own. I am not an actor yet I felt I understood the lessons she was displaying and the courage to so open herself in such a revealing way.

She is the film, with respect to the director and writer, and the film is her, not a great film, but one worth while seeing on its own, but more so for the opportunity of truly witnessing great craft and talent.

You don't have to be a fan of Annette Bening (or Jeremy Irons) to enjoy this high-spirited tale of theatrical life - or rather, Julia Lambert's life, to be specific.

Based on a novella by my one of my all-time favorite authors, W. Somerset Maugham, Being Julia is sort of like All About Eve, except not as stage-y. It's a period piece, taking place in England in the '30s, where burnt-out Diva Extraordinaire Julia Lambert is moaning and groaning about her tedious, boring life to anyone who will listen, including her weathered and weary husband (Irons, drolly pipe-puffing his way through the film as only he could). She meets a young, handsome, American fan/opportunist (Shaun Evans, highly effective) and together they rekindle Julia's lust for life.

This is just the first half hour - it gets better and more and more outrageous (and of course more FUN) as it goes on. Needless to say, you won't be bored; in fact, you might very well leave the theater smiling and shaking your head, as I did.

I am not a fan of Annette Benning by any stretch of the imagination. I thought she was far too old to play the schoolgirlish ingenue in "An American President", and found her lacking in warmth and charisma as the love interest in "Open Range". I thought she was okay for what she had to do in "Dick Tracy", and honestly can't remember her performance in "American Beauty".

In "Being Julia", however, Benning's performance thoroughly does justice to her larger-than-life character. Benning plays 1930s stage actress Julia Lambert. Julia is by turns melodramatic, egocentric, overbearing and overwrought. She roars into our consciousness from her first scene to her final curtain.

Benning is surrounded by a fine cast of actors and actresses who act as perfect foils for her. Jeremy Irons, especially, is subtle and subdued as her manager husband, Michael Gosselyn. Juliet Stevenson is a sly confederate as Julia's dresser Evie. Miriam Margolyes is a hoot as theatre owner Dolly. Shaun Evans is a feast for the eyes as Tom Fennell, the young cad who breaks Julia's heart. Michael Gambon rounds out the cast as Jimmy Langton, a ghostly mentor to the very much alive and lively Julia.

Julia is not exactly what you would call an admirable human being. She is self-centered, bitchy, catty and vengeful. But, as the Italians say, "revenge is a dish best eaten cold". The film keeps us in suspense as we nervously wait for the other shoe to drop, for Julia to execute her carefully plotted revenge. When she springs her trap, we may shake our heads disapprovingly, but we cannot suppress a hearty laugh.

By its very nature, "Being Julia" is a film that will not appeal to a young demographic. You have to be a certain age to appreciate Julia's predicament of growing old and feeling that life and love have passed her by. Benning bravely allows director Istvan Szabo to film her in merciless and unforgiving closeup, to capture the lines etched in her brow, around her mouth and at her neckline. But the film leaves us with a sense of hope that, like Julia, we may all age like fine wine -- or like the beer whose creamy foam Julia relishes like her life itself: without the slightest trace of sadness or regret.

It's London 1938. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a successful stage actress but she wants a break. Tom Fennel is a young American fan. His devotion turns the diva onto a gitty affair. Soon, he's flirting with younger actress Avice Crichton (Lucy Punch).

This is all about Bening. It's her show. Tom Sturridge doesn't exactly shine. The movie needs him to be a big star actor but he's much too bland. He's a real dud. On the other hand, Lucy Punch is fun and a funny foil. It does seem that this wouldn't be anything without Bening. She almost wills this into something good from lesser material. There are plenty of great actors around but it's Bening's movie from start to finish.

Concerned that her career may be on the decline, a middle aged theatre actress initiates an affair with a much young admirer who may just be using her in this jovial blend of comedy and drama based on a Somerset Maugham novel. Best known for Annette Bening's Oscar nominated performance, Bening is expectedly solid as the Margot Channing-like title character, though Jeremy Irons holds his own quite well as her aloof husband, spurting droll witticisms, and Michael Gambon is also superb as her deceased mentor who now coaches her every so often in spirit. Gambon's role is quite interesting as he represents a constant audience that Bening seems to imagine herself having (commenting on how well she is steering conversations) but the film may have benefited from using him more consistently throughout since he occasionally feels like a plot device. The film also culminates in an on-stage revenge pay-off that never quite seems as funny as it could have been (think 'Noises Off...'), however, generating laughs is not all that screenwriter Ronald Harwood and 'Mephisto' director István Szabó have in mind. The film is very much about the mindset of a famous actress who is accustomed to enjoying a certain amount of attention and who is cunning enough to get what she ultimately wants; by the end of the film, the question of who has really used who lingers. Miriam Margolyes also has an interesting role along these lines as Bening's lesbian financial backer who Bening manipulates with promises of swimming nude and meetings during massage sessions.

Being Julia is a very entertaining picture aimed at the over 40 demographics, which is nice for a change since most of the films these days are aimed at the 25 and younger crowd. The story is great. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if the credit goes to the screenwriter or the author. Annette Bening's performance carries the film.

The bad news is, it could have been better. My first complaint is the photography has a yellow/green cast to it, which makes the film visually dull. This is a shame since Annette Bening is so radiant. My second complaint is the directing is competent but not much more. It's pretty much what you would expect from a made for TV film but not an art house film. A visionary director could have made this film great rather than merely good. My third complaint is that it is similar to All About Eve, Sunset Boulevard, and 20th Century; but it is not at the same level of those classics, due to the reasons given above.

This is a film about the theater and in my favorite scene her son tells her that she is always acting. Some people might be turned off by the style of the dialog, but it fits the context of the film. One of the devices of the film is that the ghost of her acting mentor is always watching over her like a guardian angel. The ending of the film couldn't have been better, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Overall, this is currently one of the top 3 films in the theater and if you are lucky enough to have it playing in your area, you should see it. 8/10

Anyone who enjoys the catty, female-driven movies of old (All About Eve, The Women, et. al.) and bemoans the idea that they don't make 'em like they used to should see "Being Julia." Annette Bening is at her best when she's *not* playing saints, and while Julia isn't nearly as awful as the roles she played in "The Grifters" or "American Beauty," she's wicked enough to delight throughout (and vulnerable enough to garner sympathy).

Most of the reviews and award nominations associated with this film will likely heap loads of praise on Annette Bening and little else. She is in nearly every scene, so it's hard to separate her performance from anything else -- and while she is brilliant; the story, direction, costumes, cinematography, art direction, and supporting performances are equally worthy of praise.

Every once in a while, they make one like they used to.

Excellent. Annette Bening was brilliant. You really feel her pain and desperation, in the first part of the movie, but you just love the way she gets her vengeance. Its the kind of movie where in the back of your head you're like 'go get em Julia'. And considering the situation of the main character, the movie never takes it self too seriously. Swift, easy watching, touching, funny intuitive and clever.

The cast were the biggest draw into seeing 'Being Julia', hard to resist such great talent like Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon and Juliet Stevenson. W. Somerset Maugham was an interesting writer, some say that he is old-fashioned and his work hasn't aged well but to me he deserves being celebrated and love his insight, wit, sharp prose and charm, which deserves to be adapted more on film and the general solid standard of the adaptations seen of his proves this.

'Being Julia' does nothing to waste its talent and is well worth seeing, deserving of its generally favourable reviews here. As an adaptation of the book, it leaves a lot to be desired with much cut out and too many of the characters are underwritten due to their roles being reduced. On its own, as a standalone which has always been a fairer way to judge to me, 'Being Julia' is very good. It may not work for some viewers, some may find it over-the-top and affected while many others will find it entertaining and well made and played, count me in in the latter category.

Absolutely agree with all that Annette Bening is the reason to see 'Being Julia'. She is nothing short of amazing and is the absolute embodiment of Julia. One mustn't overlook the rest of the cast, Michael Gambon is splendid and a clear standout. Jeremy Irons does a great and beautifully restrained job as the rather underwritten character of Michael, while Lucy Punch is radiant and Juliet Stevenson enjoys herself thoroughly. Likewise with Miriam Margoyles. Istvan Szabo gets a lot out of the cast and the chemistry throughout is natural, also balancing the material without being overly-theatrical or too stagy.

It is a good looking film, those costumes of Julia's are to die for in particular. The music captures the period with great affection and fits without being obtrusive or being over-obvious, very beautiful and infectious. The script is sharp, amusing and thoughtful, like Maugham's writing, love the witticisms. The story entertains and moves, with a twist that leaves one floored and while the ending is over the top it does stay with one forever. Anybody wanting a likeable or rootable protagonist will be disappointed, but she isn't meant to be.

Did think that two performances didn't work. Shaun Evans has improved significantly over-time, absolutely love him in 'Endeavour', but he is rather colourless in 'Being Julia' and it is not helped by Tom being very underdeveloped and cliffs-notes like. More problematic is Bruce Greenwood, of all my recently seen film viewings Greenwood is among the biggest miscasts and comes over as out-of-place (and it is not just that he is completely unconvincing as a Brit, everything about him was wrong).

Some of the pace could have been tighter at times, towards the end it drags a bit.

Overall though, found myself liking it very much. 8/10

This movie is a great bit of fun: over the top in all the right places, and with many laugh out loud moments. It is bright, emotional, engaging, and witty, just like the title character, acted to perfection by Annette Bening.

It's brilliantly acted from top to bottom, with wonderful performances from even relative newcomers, Lucy Punch and Shaun Evans. I especially loved how the many layers of the original work are brought across: how real can be the fantasy world of theatre, and how fantastic the real world may seem in opposition to it. In theatre, they say timing is everything. That's very true about the bulk of the situations in this movie. I would definitely see this movie again.

This is a story about insiders in a theater in London in 1938. In particular it's about Julia Lambert (Annette Benning) and how she deals with a challenge of being sidelined in her career by middle age. When your livelihood and self identity depend to a great extent on physical appearance aging must be particularly difficult. So, one wonders to what extent Benning, who was in her mid-forties when she filmed this, is playing a part and to what extent she is playing herself. And that is the basic theme of this movie - when can you tell whether Julia is acting or when she is being truthful. Does *she* even know. More generally, we are all actors; in a given day how often do we speak what is really on our minds? How easy is it for us to determine the real thoughts of our friends? This film brings those questions to mind.

With the exception of Shaun Evans, playing an all too innocent, star-struck young American who improbably strikes up an affair with Julia, the actors turn in good performances. Jeremy Irons, who plays Julia's husband, is atypically without his usual existential angst. I particularly liked Juliet Stevenson who plays Julia's knowing dresser with great believability. I suppose, given the story line, this is an actor's movie and certainly without the fine cast there would not be much to recommend this slight story.

The period setting is nicely done with the old cars, hair styles, clothes, and so on. There are some scenes, like a large dance, that can excite the imagination. I would have thought that by 1938 the rise of Nazi Germany would have been mentioned more than once, and even that mention being rather naive (or was that meant to be ironic?)

Good news first. Annette Benning is good here, as well as Irons and the actor playing Roger. Bad news: they didn't have much to play actually as the script had butchered the story and the characters. All the irony, sardonic narratives, Julia's inward comments were left out along with a great deal of the story and some terrific scenes. For instance, hilarious seduction episode between Julia and Charles from the book - why substitute it with that pale explanation? and just for the record, Charles wasn't gay, he was apparently impotent. Well, the script made him impotent as a character since one can hardly recollect his part and what he's for there anyway. Same goes for Evie and Dolly, they just don't mean anything. There's not much of Michael, too, obviously because they left out the complete "before" section of the book. And it mattered. Tom is OK though slightly inconsistent. We don't see his development from an obscure admirer to corrupted social climber. Neither the development of Julia's feelings for him (apart from her constant giggling). All in all, better get yourself the book.

The usually reliable Ronald Harwood has somewhat bungled his adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's minor but pleasant 1937 novel, "Theatre," and director Istvan Szabo never finds the tone or rhythm to smooth over the script's miscalculations. The result is one of those Sunday-matinée movies which may please those who assume that period costumes, a proper cast, and Cole Porter on the soundtrack provide a guarantee of cinematic "quality."

There's not much point in turning Jimmie Langton (played by Michael Gambon) into a ghostly presence who appears at intervals to offer bromides about acting to Julia, and there's no need to change Tom from a Brit to a Yank. (Perhaps someone thought this might increase the movie's appeal to American audiences.) And why change Maugham's title to something so bland and unimaginative? These are minor quibbles, however, compared to the sin of transforming Julia Lambert from a great actress to a fluttery "ham" who camps it up on the stage as if performing in a rowdy music hall. (Her buffoonish upstaging of her young rival in the final reel is downright embarrassing.) If Julia is the best actress of her generation, one shudders to think of the competition!

On the other hand, critics have been needlessly unkind to Shaun Evans. (The N.Y. Times, for example, said that he had the sexual magnetism of a "boiled potato.") Maugham says of Tom: "He was not particularly good-looking, but he had a frank, open face and his shyness was attractive." Evans more or less fits this description but whereas in the novel he grows from awkwardness to presumption, here -- perhaps because he's a Yank -- he's cheeky from the very start which makes him a less interesting character.

Bruce Greenwood is miscast as Lord Charles, (too young, too American), and while Juliet Stevenson doesn't seem quite right as Evie, she still manages to dominate virtually all her scenes with Julia. As for Evans, one can see why Julia is drawn to his eager youthfulness, and he looks good enough with his clothes off -- a state which occurs with such suspicious regularity that one suspects he auditioned for this part in a shower-room -- to prove, no matter what the Times says, that he does indeed possess a cuddly, nonthreatening sexuality.

Rosemary Harris and Rita Tushingham, however, are wasted in a throwaway scene.

As for those who speak of Annette Bening's performance as Oscar-worthy, they should see Esther Gorintin in "Since Otar Left ... "

I went to see this because I was glad to see that the daring Annette Bening was finally back on screen as a leading lady, four years after American Beauty. (She really deserves better than supporting Kevin Costner in a western, doesn't she?) I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. It looks like a highbrow piece to start with--and it is--but there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments and a couple of sexy scenes worth the price of admission alone. The supporting performances by the always-great Juliet Stevenson (Bend it Like Beckham) and Miriam Margolyes (Cold Comfort Farm) are sublime. Their very presence tipped me off that this would be a winner.

Don't over-analyze this film, just enjoy it. We need more comedies like this and less of the slapstick and/or gross-out variety. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part about this film: It is gloriously schmaltz-free!

Celebrated stage actress in 1930s West End London (British by way of Jersey) is tired of giving a nightly tour-de-force at her own theater and longs for something more; she becomes involved with a young American gigolo, is counseled by the ghost of her dramatic tutor, and trades bits of business with her husband, who has become a partner in her career but not in her bed. Annette Bening does some savvy, colorful acting here, but the material is broadly-drawn, unsubtle and a bit distracting (the viewer is seldom sure how to take the characters, especially at crucial points in the beginning, and since Julia is such a drama queen anyway, it's unclear how we're supposed to feel about her when she's hurting). The direction is so blandly smooth it makes an uncomfortable partner with the script, which doesn't quite give us the heady glimpse beyond the footlights that "All About Eve" did, although that is clearly its intention. Bening ultimately makes up for the shortcomings: she takes a while to find this character, and then has to decide how far to go with her, but her choices are uniformly correct and her close-up at the finale (bemusement mixed with self-satisfaction and matter-of-fact calmness) is a masterful touch. **1/2 from ****

Annette Bening does her best work ever in this film set in the 1930's about the life of an English stage actress. Her performance is over-the-top when it needs to be and, at the same time, evinces a trembling vulnerability as in scenes where she begs her young lover to remain with her. Bening's acting will certainly win her an Oscar nomination and should win her the award. It's far and away the best acting -- male or female -- that I've seen this year. (Admittedly, there are many critically praised performances that I haven't seen.) The versatile Michael Gambon will probably not be nominated for his wonderful turn as Bening's acting teacher but he is another of the marvelous things about this film. Jeremy Irons is also very good as the stage/manager-husband as is Juliet Stevenson as the star's personal assistant and dresser. Istvan Szabo, the director, and Ronald Harwood, who adapted the Somerset Maugham story, also deserve mention. Go see it.

I just saw this film in the cinema and it succeeds on several levels, primarily because of Annette Bening. She was nominated for Best Actress before for 'The Grifters' and 'American Beauty' and her performance here, in my view, is as good or better. In fact, it reminds me of her performance in 'Valmont'. It is a delight to follow the plot by reading her face. And if Bening has any vanity, it applies to her craft not her face. The light shows or hides every wrinkle as required.

This film turns out to be a modern equivalent of 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'All About Eve' set in the 1930s. While based on Somerset Maugham's novella 'Theatre', Ronald Harwood has created a screenplay somehow beyond the strict confines of Maugham.

The success goes beyond an intelligent, laugh-out-loud script. Jeremy Irons, Juliet Stevenson (Emma), Michael Gambon (Singing Detective), Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days), Maury Chaykin (Dances With Wolves) and relative newcomers, Lucy Punch and Shaun Evans all get it right. I gather a theatre in Budapest gave the actors real material to work with, not blue screen CGI. I can't honestly recommend the director's previous effort 'Mephisto' unless you have patience. In this effort, his intelligence was used to entertain intelligently. If theatre intrigues you, you'll love this movie.

Lyrical adaptation of a Somerset Maugham novella set in London's swinging '30s. We watch Annette Bening as a famous stage actress, her loves, her life, and finding her identity. If all the world is a stage, what does that make the stage? Bringing the emotions from off-stage drama into the play sometimes works and sometimes doesn't – and if we learn the perfect responses to every situation then how much is left of the real person? The film is far from perfect but it has a certain integrity to it. Bening's performance is a little patchy, but the highs and lows of her acting and 'acting the actress' serve ultimately to underline the themes of the story and its stunning ending. Intellectually stimulating without being too demanding, with wonderful music and costumes.