Being Julia
Jul. 12th, 2008 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hildy89No, it's not an autobiography, although it's nice to hear someone with my name who isn't a victim or worse. Watching someone with your own name die on television/movies is rather disturbing, especially when everyone is repeating your name over and over. "What about X?" "What about me, I'm right here!" Just saying.
Comcast's On Demand had Annette Bening's "Being Julia" as one of their free movies. Since I couldn't find anything else on, I disappeared into 1930s London for awhile. Besides Bening, it had Michael Gambon playing her acting teacher and Jeremy Irons playing her well-meaning husband. The story itself was in some ways predictable -- middle aged woman thinks she's losing it until she meets a younger chap who pays attention to her and hijinks ensue. What was interesting was how Julia played everyone at the end. I knew something was up, but I didn't know what until she actually started those final scenes. Then you just had to sit back and watch the fur fly.
I remember comparing her to Hilary and it's still mostly a valid interpretation. She even confirms it when she says "great actors shouldn't be on film", which sounds a lot like Hilary. She loved the theater, she loved acting, she loved having an audience and knowing there was an audience. Acting on film wasn't quite the same. Of course you had to picture Hilary having an affair with CJ while he's having an affair with Celia. (And Jeff having more business-sense than acting ability. Maybe it was Scott?) Would Hilary have embarrassed her rival so openly? Oh, probably.
It makes me want to watch WENN again.
Comcast's On Demand had Annette Bening's "Being Julia" as one of their free movies. Since I couldn't find anything else on, I disappeared into 1930s London for awhile. Besides Bening, it had Michael Gambon playing her acting teacher and Jeremy Irons playing her well-meaning husband. The story itself was in some ways predictable -- middle aged woman thinks she's losing it until she meets a younger chap who pays attention to her and hijinks ensue. What was interesting was how Julia played everyone at the end. I knew something was up, but I didn't know what until she actually started those final scenes. Then you just had to sit back and watch the fur fly.
I remember comparing her to Hilary and it's still mostly a valid interpretation. She even confirms it when she says "great actors shouldn't be on film", which sounds a lot like Hilary. She loved the theater, she loved acting, she loved having an audience and knowing there was an audience. Acting on film wasn't quite the same. Of course you had to picture Hilary having an affair with CJ while he's having an affair with Celia. (And Jeff having more business-sense than acting ability. Maybe it was Scott?) Would Hilary have embarrassed her rival so openly? Oh, probably.
It makes me want to watch WENN again.
