sol- Concerned that her career may be on the decline, a middle aged theatre actress initiates an affair with a much young admirer who may just be using her in this jovial blend of comedy and drama based on a Somerset Maugham novel. Best known for Annette Bening's Oscar nominated performance, Bening is expectedly solid as the Margot Channing-like title character, though Jeremy Irons holds his own quite well as her aloof husband, spurting droll witticisms, and Michael Gambon is also superb as her deceased mentor who now coaches her every so often in spirit. Gambon's role is quite interesting as he represents a constant audience that Bening seems to imagine herself having (commenting on how well she is steering conversations) but the film may have benefited from using him more consistently throughout since he occasionally feels like a plot device. The film also culminates in an on-stage revenge pay-off that never quite seems as funny as it could have been (think 'Noises Off...'), however, generating laughs is not all that screenwriter Ronald Harwood and 'Mephisto' director István Szabó have in mind. The film is very much about the mindset of a famous actress who is accustomed to enjoying a certain amount of attention and who is cunning enough to get what she ultimately wants; by the end of the film, the question of who has really used who lingers. Miriam Margolyes also has an interesting role along these lines as Bening's lesbian financial backer who Bening manipulates with promises of swimming nude and meetings during massage sessions.

jahan-bahareh I am not a person to watch movie a lot, and you don't have to be a fan of this movie. i just picked this movie from library to do my presentation in class.This a really romantic, comedy and exciting movie that made me to watch it five times. Julia was a real famous, pretty actress woman that showed to her audience who really getting old that age is not a reason to give up. The point of the movie was save your confidence in any age because after she found out "Avice" who took her two love men she started to make herself strong to show her she is not a person to put her down in her life."Being Julia" is a delightful tale about theatrical life, manipulation, love and revenge.

blanche-2 Annette Bening has title role in "Being Julia," a story about an actress who oftentimes doesn't know where she leaves off and her stage character begins.Though this is really a one-woman show, Bening is surrounded by a marvelous cast including Jeremy Irons as her impresario husband, Michael Gambon as her acting coach, who, though dead for 15 years, is coaching her through life, Shaun Evans as her young, ambitious beau, and Lucy Punch as her rival. Kudos to Bruce Greenwood, who plays a suitor of Julia's - it looked like Bruce Greenwood but didn't sound like Bruce Greenwood, so I had to look at the cast list.Julia Lambert is a 1930s stage star who, as far as she's concerned, will be playing women in her thirties for a long time. Though she depends on her husband, who owns a theater and guides her career, they lead separate lives (he's under the impression that she hasn't been interested in sex since she gave birth to their son). She takes a young lover (Evans) who soon falls in love with blonde Avice (Punch) and asks Julia to let her audition for a role in her new play. Julia is most generous to her rival, encouraging her husband to cast her as the ingénue in the new play, giving Avice the stage in her key scene, and even wearing a colorless costume so as not to distract from Avice's moment. The viewer isn't fooled; we sit there waiting for Julia's next move.Julia's own son Roger is never sure when she's acting or being real, especially since she once told him something and that night, repeated the identical thing on stage. Let's just say when something works, she keeps it. When she begs her young lover not to leave her, she says the same speech, word for word, she gave to another boyfriend.Bening is fabulous in this tour de force, and she looks beautiful and elegant in the gorgeous costumes. Someone commented that she bravely let Szabo photograph her in "unforgiving closeup," but I'm sure there are plenty of 46 year-olds who wouldn't mind looking like Bening.This is a slight story but a highly entertaining one. My only complaint is the casting of Evans, and I do not understand how it is that casting people always, always get this wrong. When Linda Grey had a young boyfriend on "Dallas," it was Christopher Atkins, which ruined the plot. I could go on, but these roles are often given to men who, first of all, are too young and look it, and secondly are too vapid. Someone on this site suggested Heath Ledger or Billy Crudup - uh, now you're talking. This kind of a role demands someone hot and of the type we older women would appreciate, not someone we want to pat on the head.Definitely worth seeing for Bening's performance and the great period atmosphere evoked in the film. Also, it's a film targeted to the over 40 demographic for a change.

lattetzar The only reason I picked this film at the local library is because I had seen all of the other films they had to offer. From the very beginning I thought I was in for something rather lame, (The opening title sequence leaves something to be desired in the form of design.) As the film progressed I found myself pleasantly surprised. Being Juila turned out to be a wonderful film. I enjoyed the pace, the costumes, the humor, the writing, and the sets. I definitely will recommend this one to my friends. My roommate and I thought it was a bit ironic that Annette Bening plays a British actress, while Shaun Evans of Liverpool, England plays an American fanatic of Julia Lambert. Additionally, the film has made me think about the roles that we play in life. It makes me wonder which characters I play are actually me.