On DVD: 'Julia'

'Julia' (R) **1/2

Writers: Aude Py and Erick Zonca
Director: Erick Zonca
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Saul Rubinek, Kate DelCastillo, Aidan Gould, Jude Cicolella, Bruno Bichir

"Julia" is an overwrought, overlong and over melodramatic movie that wastes an outstanding performance by Tilda Swinton. She is so good here that I can almost recommend this movie just for her performance. I just think with it's super long running time that I lost how much I enjoyed her performance. Tilda Swinton is that great actress that some people mix up with Cate Blanchett. She is very much her own with her tall, lanky body, her beautiful green eyes and her command of any performance she gives. She was wonderful battling George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" and here she owns the screen. The movie is inspired by the works of the King of independent cinema John Cassavettes and resembles his 1980 film "Gloria". It deals with an alcoholic woman who gets mixed up with a kidnapping plot when she hooks up with a woman in her AA meeting who is trying to get her son back. I think the movie captures that grit and subtle power of word and performance that Cassavettes always got but becomes inferior as the movie gets too complicated and long. A better and more sound film inspired by Cassavettes would be "She's So Lovely" which is a powerful movie with performances by Sean Penn, John Travolta and Robin Wright. I just couldn't stay with this story and I think it needed a rewrite and a more thorough editing job. Tilda Swinton is amazing in this movie though and was enough to keep my attention but I struggled towards the end keeping up with more absurd plot complications. If you like seeing an actress give a powerful, engrossing performance then you might like it. "Julia" is now available on DVD.