Synopsis
Julia Lambert is a true diva: beautiful, talented, weathly and famous. She has it all - including a devoted husband who has mastermined her brilliant career - but after years of shining in the spotlight she begins to suffer from a severe case of boredom and longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye. Julia finds exactly what she's looking for in a handsome young American fan, but it isn't long before the novelty fling adds a few more sparks than she was hoping for. Fortuately for her, this surprise twist in the plot will thrust her back into the greatest role of her life.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Annette BeningJulia Lambert
- Jeremy IronsMichael Gosselyn
- Miriam MargolyesDolly de Vries
- Bruce GreenwoodLord Charles
- Michael GambonJimmie Langton
- Leigh LawsonArchie Dexter
- Shaun EvansTom Fennel
- Juliet StevensonEvie
- Max IronsCurtain Call Boy
- Michael CulkinRupert
Recommendations
- 75
Entertainment Weekly
Being Julia flirts too heavily with soap opera clichés, but it has enough surprises to keep you guessing, and for Annette Bening it's the liveliest of comebacks. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
Part of the movie's fascination is watching Ms. Bening play a role that tantalizingly mirrors her own position in today's movie world - and she does it with wit, sparkle, and all-out energy. - 63
ReelViews
Because I so enjoyed the last 45 minutes, I'm tempted to recommend it. The problem is that you have to sit through an hour to get to the worthwhile parts. - 60
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Suggests a cross between "Sunset Boulevard" and "All About Eve." The suggestion, alas, doesn't go very far, but Bening's performance approaches the pantheon. - 60
Variety
A minor affair, a confection based on dalliances and the way a set of sophisticated theater people handle them, that lacks true distinction. - 60
L.A. Weekly
But for all Bening’s high emoting and her trademark giggle, here overused to the point of annoyance, for most of its length Being Julia offers little insight into a woman whose life is ruled by theatrics. - 60
The New York Times
Being Julia may not make much psychological or dramatic sense, but Ms. Bening, pretending to be Julia (who is always pretending to be herself), is sensational. - 50
Rolling Stone
Hungarian director Istvan Szabo (Sunshine) overplays his hand and traps Bening in a role that's all emoting, no emotion.
