Julia
Julia review
- 100
- 2
15th March 2009
Zonca's first film since The Dreamlife of Angels is a very different beast. Initially a character study of an alcoholic (Tilda Swinton as the titular Julia) it metamorphoses half an hour in, into a relentless kidnap thriller which veers from one desperate situation to the next at breakneck pace, without scarificing character detail. Swinton is absolutely extraordinary as Julia, making her totally convincing, even when her actions are hard to explain, there's a nervous energy about her performance too, which gives the whole film an edginess mirrored by Zonca's restless handheld camera.
The film is, at 150 minutes, perhaps longer than it needs to be, and the third act does get repetitious, but Swinton carries it through to its sudden, but satisfying, ending.
