Probing the angst of a middle-aged diva, István Szabó's Being Julia - based on W Somerset Maugham's Theatre - is essentially Bridget Jones's Diary for grown-ups. Set in 30s London, the film stars Annette Bening as a darling of Theatreland who senses the cracks in her life are widening as the wrinkles are deepening. At best this is a witty and insightful portrait of a woman searching for her true identity; however it's also aloof and inconsequential.
Hitting her mid 40s, Julia (Bening) senses the fragility of fame while her marriage to theatre impresario Michael (Jeremy Irons) has grown stale. Looking for rejuvenation, she falls into bed with Tom (Shaun Evans), a young American who worships the boards she treads on. Unfortunately, her newfound confidence is just as quickly knocked when Tom leaves her in the wings for rising starlet Avice (Lucy Punch). As the opening of her new play approaches, she must somehow untangle the mess of emotions and deliver the performance of her life.
"BENING PROVES SHE CAN CARRY A PICTURE ON CHARISMA ALONE"
Balancing outrageous theatrics with quiet moments of self-awareness, Bening is a triumph and, like her alter ego, proves that she can carry a picture on charisma alone - a good thing too because there's otherwise little to endear us to Julia. Her self-obsession is profoundly tragic and her fortitude is eminently admirable, but by setting the pedestal so high, the script fails to arouse basic gut empathy.
In every other way it's expertly constructed, weaved from a series of revealing flashes, such as when Julia resorts to stage dialogue in her real-life crises. Playing her ethereal mentor, Michael Gambon adds humour and mischief, while Irons is wickedly dry and urbane. Like the eponymous prima donna though, Being Julia may be witty, sophisticated and charming, but it's also too detached from common reality.
Being Julia (2004)
