Product: Julia (1971)
Rating: 5.0
A Movie for All Seasons
Having been much taken with "Julia" upon its release in 1977, I was curious if I would be so enthralled by it over thirty years later. It holds up very well indeed. Starring Jane Fonda as the writer Lillian Hellman and directed by Fred Zinnemann ("A Man for All Seasons") it is based on a story taken supposedly from Hellman's memoir PENTIMENTO although Reynolds Price in his latest memoir ARDEN SPIRITS accuses Hellman of "purloining" incidents from the life of Muriel Gardiner Buttinger. At any rate the story of what happens to Julia (Vanessa Redgrave) and her fight against fascism in the 1930's makes for high drama of the first order. Both Redgrave and Jason Robards, who plays Dash Hammett, Hellman's lover, both received Oscars for their performances. Maximilian Schell and Hal Holbrook have minor roles, and Meryl Streep has a few lines as well. This seems to me to be Jane Fonda at her best-- she looks terribly young and beautiful-- before she started playing herself as so often happens to actors as they get older. Certainly she is in good company here: think Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson as two examples. Oh, and Redgrave, never one to shun controversy, is just as famous-- or infamous, depending on your point of view-- for her "Zionist" remarks in her Oscar acceptance speech as she is for this very fine performance.The film opens and closes with the same peaceful scene with voice over from Hellman's memoir. A really fine movie indeed.