Being Julia (2004)
80%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
9 wins & 19 nominations total
Annette Bening delivers a captivating performance in Being Julia, a sophisticated comedy that follows a 1930s stage diva who experiences an identity crisis at age 40
Annette Bening shines in Being Julia, playing a ferocious and flamboyant actress who is constantly disguised. While the movie isn’t for kids, it’s definitely worth watching for Bening’s masterful performance. She brings the character to life with such vitality that you can’t help but be swept away by her. The movie is a witty and insightful portrait of a woman searching for her true identity, but it’s also aloof and inconsequential at times. Overall, Being Julia is a beguiling romance that will leave you entertained and impressed by Bening’s acting chops.
Production Company(ies)
T A T Communications, Company,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Kecskemét, Hungary
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some sexuality
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 44m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 2004 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2005
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Bruce Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson, Shaun Evans, Lucy Punch, directed by István Szabó, written by Ronald Harwood, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Nick Schager, Roger Moore, Andrew Sarris, Richard Nilsen, Stella Papamichael, Mark Halverson, Kam Williams, Betsy Bozdech, Marty Mapes, Enrique Buchichio, R rating, aging actress, identity crisis, affair, revenge, theater, stage diva, American actor, MPAA rating, Sony Pictures Classics, Robert Lantos, 1930s, passion, career, love, manipulation, music, theatrical life, control, veteran actress, younger lover, romance, sophisticated comedy
Worldwide gross: $14,339,171
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $21,852,658
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,684
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,383,060
US/Canada gross: $7,739,049
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,794,182
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,567
US/Canada opening weekend: $122,214
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $186,252
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,687
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $27,431,700
Production budget ranking: 1,206
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $14,771,970
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$20,351,013
ROI to date (est.): -48%
ROI ranking: 1,681
Jeremy Irons – Michael Gosselyn
Bruce Greenwood – Lord Charles
Miriam Margolyes – Dolly de Vries
Juliet Stevenson – Evie
Shaun Evans – Tom
Director(s)
István Szabó
Writer(s)
Ronald Harwood
Producer(s)
Robert Lantos
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
9 wins & 19 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (124) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (29)
Annette Bening is great, but this isn’t for kids.
October 14, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Benning … brings this constantly disguised vixen to ferocious, flamboyant life.
May 3, 2005 | Rating: C
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
It is Bening that’s worth the price of admission. She makes even the corniest line ring true.
November 19, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
I enjoyed watching Ms. Bening in close to top form, and I think you will, too.
November 18, 2004
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
Bening brings such vitality to the role that she sweeps aside all the quibbles, and you have to sit back and enjoy what is a masterly performance by a great actor playing a great actor.
November 18, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/5
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
At best this is a witty and insightful portrait of a woman searching for her true identity; however it’s also aloof and inconsequential.
November 16, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Stella Papamichael
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 2/5
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
A beguiling romance about an aging actress at the peak of her career who embarks on an ill-advised, illicit affair with an admirer half her age.
February 17, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Kam Williams
Princeton Town Topics
Annette Bening is the movie; her performance … is the kind that will pop up on “best of” lists for years to come.
October 22, 2006 | Rating: 4/4
Betsy Bozdech
DVDJournal.com
One of the best movies from this year’s Telluride Film Festival
February 5, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit
(…) Bening recorre todas las emociones posibles, desde la euforia histrica hasta la ms absoluta depresin.
August 27, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
While much of Being Julia’s appeal stems from no one being as fabulous as [Julia] is, the lack of a worthy sparring partner diminishes the fun.
April 13, 2005 | Rating: C
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema…
Plot
1938. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) and Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons) are the royal couple of the London theater scene, Julia, an actress, and Michael, a former actor, who took over running the theater and its troupe after the death of their mentor, Jimmy Langton (Sir Michael Gambon). Jimmy is still constantly with Julia in spirit as she navigates through life. Besides their work, Julia and Michael lead largely separate lives, they, long ago having stopped a sexual relationship. Julia of late has been feeling disenchanted with her life, she not wanting to admit it’s because she is approaching middle age. Her disenchantments manifests itself in wanting Michael to close their current production early so that she can recharge her juices, something he is reluctant to do if only for not wanting to let the theater sit empty. What Julia ends up doing instead is embarking on an affair with Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans), an adoring young American who is young enough to be her son. As Julia and Tom’s relationship progresses, the more she falls in love with him and becomes dependent upon him for her happiness. But as she finds out that Tom is not as innocent and shy as he first made himself to seem, she may learn that Tom cannot be that direct conduit to happiness and fulfillment at this stage in her life. However, she may find an avenue through Tom that may truly re-energize her for herself.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Annette Bening delivers a captivating performance as the aging stage actress Julia Lambert.
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