 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
84.169.234.11
In Reply to: Being Julia... or Being Very Mean Julia posted by Victor Khomenko on April 22, 2005 at 07:31:56:
Somerset Maugham as far I remember this novel may read a little dated today, if I still have it present in my mind, not that I want to make this smaller than it actually is, being one of the author I particulary cherish and have at least read this times his whole work.
It is more a question of adaptation, a novel with a certain quality for dramatic transformed and transposed in somewhat a lighter oeuvre in another time of another century.
Bening, whose normally never fail to unnerve me, steal the show of my unwillingness to like her, she is glanceful and can pull the string that make this comedy with a bitter under tone zest quite palpable, in Maugham spirit.
Captivating she was indeed, starting after the one third of the film gone until to my gusto, the very last moment. She was just brillant. So was her perfect match, in this case Irons.
I feel her lack of humanity excatly to be what Somerset wanted to point out: it is said, the vain vanity and force behind actors to be the only one and best loved of them all.
And this film shine for that and specially for that!
Hitchcock with " Secret Agent " or in the Fortys " Razordīs Edge " and quite a few other adaptations, no one, for my taste did retrieved so many of the author intention.
Yes, lighteness can be a fullfiling in itself.
Yes it can!I wish we had here a fun conversation like in " LOTR " but helas this film seems not drive out a lot of passion, if any, here.
Patrick will, sooner or later, revised " Solaris " ....
Follow Ups:
As far as the film showing the vanity of actors, it is correct, but my point is not the subject, but rather the form in which it was done.I am still looking forward to reading that part of the story, as I simply refuse to believe that was the author's intention - the episode was handled in a forceful, too direct to the point of being obnoxious fashion. In some way it also contradicts the very character of Julia, who, inspite of her many faults, of which vanity was perhaps the most pronounced, managed to remain a human being, with plenty of good facets to love and appreciate. The revenge, however, took life of its own, and while I will allow that most of us (all?) get get ballistic every now and then, capturing such a ballistic moment is hardly something that lends itself as a subject of a character study. And even if Julia was indeed capable of becoming irrationally cruel to the point of completely losing all human qualities, there was hardly any hint of that in the rest of the movie, making the final scene so grossly disproportionally absurd and unpleasant.
But as I said, I am willing to reserve my final judjement until I have chance to read how the author handles the episode.
Even in the moment of fury I expect some underlining human qualities to show... in a good work. Art is about knowing where to stop, and there was no stop there, just an almost absurdly Hollywoodian drive to succeed by refusing all limits of good taste. Julia's nemesis' faults were human, silly and quite forgivable. Her reaction, on the other hand, was merciless and full of genuine cruelty, making, all of a sudden, the young actress look far more human and deserving of a sympathy. I doubt that was the director's intention.
I agree that Bening deserves good credit for this work. It is the directing that I am having problem with, plus writing.
Mentioning Irons is almost pointless, as he is always great and pleasure to look at, so one hardly expects anything other than perfection and joy from that man.
Regarding the passion... it seems it generated plenty in you and this family, and this is far more than could be said of many other films... maybe you could ask AuPh gently what he thought about this movie?
By the time you get to Solaris you may be such an old man that you might confuse Tarkovsky with Soderbergh, and Clooney with Banionis... and perhaps life will be easier that way? You call me with your reaction and I can't even hear the phone anylonger...
Watching it between an enema and a diper change... what a bright future is ahead for us!
The point is or the moral if you prefer, is that it is everybodys turn to suffer, once to be in the winner position to become the loser and that was the author message in his play remainding more Wilde than Somerset himself and more earlier in the long tradition of Shakespear himself.
The person getting object who turn the other again to an object. In a place who nobodys seems to be what he really is. Confrontation between real life and theater, to find at last, there is none, as it is just the same.
Well, Julia was fighting on two front and catching two flies in a stroke, that is said her number one position as a star and her husband, inverse role as seen before, and I do think it was brillantly done!
It show also, in Somerset eyes, the" innocence " of man compared to the more wicked woman ways
The fact is that you did not like the film and nothing can change that!
Why? That would be the question and I put it on a different sensibility on " light " stories, as on important work we mostly agree. That may result from the very first years of our life and the countries we live in and what surrounding we had.
Later the intelectuality of one self and his life experience, let us make more easily to reach a kind of consensus of important works.
Julia, not being one of course! But a fun one like a good lay, but a marriage....
What makes the matter even more hardous is that for every word I would like to employ in English I need three others for replacement...Kind of unerving!
Well, instead of AuPh how about....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/11/11/being_julia_2004_review.shtml
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-041027-movies-review-mw-julia,0,3976132.story
http://officecom.qc.ca/Media-film/Fiche/BeingJulia.html
http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=Being Julia (Movie)&title2=Being Julia (Movie)&reviewer=A. O. Scott&v_id=290203
But is it worth the epitaph?Patrick
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
