The words Tilda Swinton and knockout performance are nearly always within the same sentence these days. Powerful and complex roles, including a career best (and Oscar winning) performance in the excellent Michael Clayton, are coming thick and fast for the Scottish wonder woman. However, the unconventionally beautiful, almost androgynous, actress was hand picked by director Erick Zonda for the role of a down and out self obsessed, alcoholic, one night standing tumbleweed because “She resembles a broken bird…”
Watching his third film, the Cassevettes inspired Julia, you begin to realise exactly what he means. The film opens in bar where the lanky red headed Julia prowls and grinds awkwardly around the place, picks a man and wakes up with him in his car. We instantly get the feeling, which is backed up over the films first 20 minutes, that this is par for the course for old Julia and she’s shortly jobless back in Alcoholic’s Anonymous and nearly broke.
Enter Elena (Kate del Castillo) a fellow A.A member who attempts to befriend the impenetrable Julia. It’s only when she’s is asked by Elena to help in a hair brained kidnapping plot that Julia begins to take an interest and eventually agrees to take the woman’s son, Tom (Aidan Gould), from his over bearing millionaire grandfather. Needless to say kidnapping and alcohol don’t mix and soon enough things take a turn for the worst as our morbidly unlikeable lead is forced to fend, not only for herself but, also a ten year old boy.
Zonda’s hand held camera work is effective but his editing choices and pacing are often dancing to their own rhythm and the film is slightly over long at 144min. But, once again its Swinton’s blazing performance that makes all of the small niggles with Zondas first film in 9 years seem trite. If there’s a more open and fearless British actress working today I honestly can’t think of her. Even a completely empty ending couldn’t quite ruin it for me, though it really does try its best.
Saul Rubinek is sorely underused as Julia’s possibly-shady-possibly-not friend, Mitch and it seems he’s more often than not, only brought in to tie up loose ends when needed. The films final hour in Mexico is a little hit and miss and it all could have all gone terribly wrong if not for some wonderful moments with a more open Julia and Tom.
Strangely, Tom’s mother Elena is taken out of the film very early on and we never really get back to her which is an obvious attempt at making Julia the only real “mother” in the film, which on a blunt level does work, however it also seems like a bit of an easy way out. Those little itches aside Zonda’s film puts a very different angle on the old kidnap and double cross film and relies instead on strong character rather then last minute twists. He also, admirably pulls away from making any comment on the Mexico/USA immigration mess which, for a while seems unavoidable, and instead focuses on battles closer to home.
Julia is a well made crime film and character study with a solid memorising and ugly performance at its core.
