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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Istvan Szabo's "Being Julia"
(2004) is a genuine treat for anyone who
appreciates a good story told to perfection. It
offers the charming Annette Bening her most
enigmatic screen characterization to date; that of
temperamental aging stage diva, Julia Lampert.
Julia is desirably contemptible, wholly
exasperating, yet wildly energetic and vital. She
exudes an air of a haughty exclusivity and yet
there's something wonderfully generous and tender
in the way she wears her heart on her sleeve. But
Julia's open marriage to producer/theatre owner,
Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons) is compromised
when transparent American leech, Tom Fennel (Shaun
Evans) pursues a romantic détente as part of his
own social climbing agenda. Eventually Julia comes
to her senses, accepts the advantages, rather than
the vices associated with being middle aged, and
embarks upon a dastardly set of circumstances that
ultimately culminate in the sweetest of revenges.
Based on the W. Somerset Maugham novella,
"Theatre," that has been ably adapted for the
screen by Ronald Hardwood, the film moves through
a series of entertaining vignettes that introduce
us to Julia's tiny assortment of legitimate
friends. There's Dolly (Miriam Margolyes, the
financial backer of most of Julia's plays for
perverse sexual reasons of her own, Bruce
Greenwood as Lord Charles -- Julia's most trusted
confident with a secret life, and Michael Gambon
as Jimmie Langton, Julia's dead muse who
communicates to her through her own fond
recollections of his expert tutelage.
The DVD from Universal exhibits a quite stylish
and handsome image that perfectly captures the 20s
look of vintage English lives of the affluent.
Colors are richly rendered. Blacks are generally
solid. Whites are often more tinted yellow, but
that's in keeping with the stylized aged look of
the original film. There is a definite grain
structure to the image that appears more
pronounced during darker scenes, but again, this
was apparent during "Being Julia's" theatrical
run, so no harm, no foul, I suppose. The audio is
5.1, and although the vintage song catalogue
throughout the film is charmingly represented, it
is Michael Danna's illustrious "Being Julia"
theme, interspersed throughout the film that is
most often stands out. It is as poetic, melodic
and engaging as the film's leading lady. Extras
include a "making of" documentary that is really
more of a promotional junket than a comprehensive
"how we did it" look at the film. There's also
some behind the scenes stuff and deleted scenes,
though neither is presented at an adequate viewing
quality -- instead forcing one to watch a
generally badly rendered picture element with no
audio commentary to explain just exactly what we
are watching. There's also no theatrical trailer.
A shame! |
