Julia Movie Review (1977)
A historical drama full of mystery and a touch of thriller, Julia is the story of two friends who would do anything for each other, and during WWII, one of them does.
There are some actors that you associate with specific roles. Whether you grew up with a particular movie or something left an indelible mark on you, you can’t help but keep those actors in mind. For me, Vanessa Redgrave will always be Guinevere in Camelot and Jane Fonda will always be the adult daughter in On Golden Pond. I have, of course, seen each of them in various other roles, but these are their roles of my childhood. They each have a special place in my heart and I looked forward to seeing them in a film together.
Julia is a movie based on the real-life story of writer Lillian Hellman and her childhood friend Julia. More like sisters than friends, Lillian and Julia spent lots of time together, as well as summers together at Julia’s opulent home, where she lived with her grandparents. As the girls got older, Julia became exposed to the marginalized communities of the world and set off to make things better. While working to help people during Nazi Germany, years later, Julia asks Lillian to help her bring resources to Berlin because she is the only one that Julia can trust.
This story is told in flashback and narrated by an older Lillian. All of the scenes have a serene, gauzy calm about them, even when there is tension or sadness. It feels like memories in a way that I’ve never noticed about a film before. This is a storyteller telling you a story in such a way that you connect with the film, but don’t really feel the heightened emotion of the moment because it has passed. You know that there is more to the story because she is the one telling it.
While this film was nominated for and won many awards (including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Vanessa Redgrave), it became a topic of controversy a few years later. Lillian Hellman was accused of fabricating Julia as well as her experiences with the anti-Nazi activist. Psychiatrist Muriel Gardiner claimed that Julia was based on her own experiences and Ms. Hellman was never able to prove that her personal claims of Julia were true. Nonetheless, the movie still stands as a piece of art, whether based on truth or fiction.
I really enjoyed the flow of this movie. The beginning is gentle and curious, but you slowly become captivated by where everything is going. Lillian becomes a successful playwright who is being showered in money, while rich Julia is using as much as possible to save others. Lillian is asked to move completely out of her comfort zone to get to Julia after many years of little-to-no communication. Her travel from one country to the other with contacts that she has never met is fascinating and nerve-wracking. It is a reminder of what the resistance must have gone through at wartime. It’s not a perspective that we’re used to talking about as much.
As a total aside, and knowing that this is from 1977, one of the scripted lines, “Act gay. Can you act gay?” took me a minute to process. Are they supposed to suddenly pose as lovers? What is “act gay” supposed to look like? Oh, she means happy… happy.
Julia is a movie that I recommend watching. With beautiful performances from Redgrave and Fonda, as well as Jason Robards, it is a lovely story that may or may not be based in truth. But for a film experience, that doesn’t really matter.
Runtime: 117 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes, it’s an interesting story
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
