Being Julia (2004)

76% of critics liked it
(123 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(7,134 ratings)

A woman scorned unleashes her fury in this droll comedy based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a famous and well-respected actress, but though her life in the limelight seems glamorous, things are not going well for her off-stage. Julia's husband (Jeremy Irons) is… More A woman scorned unleashes her fury in this droll comedy based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a famous and well-respected actress, but though her life in the limelight seems glamorous, things are not going well for her off-stage. Julia's husband (Jeremy Irons) is unfaithful to her (and not especially discreet about it), her son is angry with her, and she's afraid she's losing her looks and allure as she advances further into middle age. In the midst of this, Julia meets a handsome and dashing young American named Tom (Shaun Evans). Tom makes no secret of his attraction to Julia, and the feeling is mutual, leading the two into a torrid affair. But, while Julia at first dives into this adulterous romance with little care for how it could affect her reputation, she becomes livid with rage when she learns that Tom is also involved with a younger actress (Lucy Punch), and is only using Julia to advance himself. Julia then plots an elaborate revenge against Tom in a scheme that will help her win back the pride and confidence life has recently stripped from her. Being Julia also stars Michael Gambon and Bruce Greenwood. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: István Szabó
Written By: Ronald Harwood
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 15, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Mar 22, 2005
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
This is a choice role, and Bening tears into it with the broadest smile and widest eyes you ever saw.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It is Bening that's worth the price of admission. She makes even the corniest line ring true.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
I enjoyed watching Ms. Bening in close to top form, and I think you will, too.
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
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.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A pretty good picture wrapped around a great, Oscar-contender performance.
Tom Long, Detroit News
Being Julia isn't perfect; but Bening is, and that makes the film sing.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Annette Bening is great, but this isn't for kids.
Kam Williams, Princeton Town Topics
Annette Bening landed an Oscar nomination for her measured performance in this adaptation of 'Theatre,' a 1937 novel by W. Somerset Maugham.
Kam Williams, Princeton Town Topics
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.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
One of the best movies from this year's Telluride Film Festival
Enrique Buchichio, Uruguay Total
(...) Bening recorre todas las emociones posibles, desde la euforia histérica hasta la más absoluta depresión.
Douglas Pratt, Movie City News
There is a vague sense that not much is really happening, but if you just hang with it and soak up the atmosphere, the delightful payoff is worth the wait.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
Benning ... brings this constantly disguised vixen to ferocious, flamboyant life.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

This was okay. Not much of a story to it really, though. Wouldn't want to watch it again.
Sanjaya &

Actually, I did not like the movie... But I was impressed by the acting that Bening has... Why she lose to Hilary Swank?
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Being Julia" takes place in 1938 London where Julia Lambert(Annette Bening) is one of the top theatre actresses in the city.(She has a nasty habit of giving performances even when she is offstage.) Her husband, Michael(Jeremy Irons), owns the theatre… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Being Julia" takes place in 1938 London where Julia Lambert(Annette Bening) is one of the top theatre actresses in the city.(She has a nasty habit of giving performances even when she is offstage.) Her husband, Michael(Jeremy Irons), owns the theatre where she performs. She is exhausted from performing and wants a break. Enter Tom Fennell(Shaun Evans), a young penniless American admirer who does wonders for her spirits.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]At its best, "Being Julia" is a predictable, slight look at the world of the theatre.(I would have liked to have seen more about the travails of an aging actress and the difficulty of getting worthwhile parts.) Then, it ends on one of the most corrosive notes in cinema history which ruins anything positive that might have happened before. This is a shame because Annette Bening does a wonderful job and there is a great supporting cast including Michael Gambon, Juliet Stevenson, Bruce Greenwood, Maury Chaykin and Rosemary Harris. But the less experienced actors, Shaun Evans and Lucy Punch, are simply overwhelmed. [/font]
Mike N

The world was raising. Thunderous canyons shot from below to meet my footsteps. Forests rose and died behind my back. Birds evolved and turned to dust before me. The sky was fire and shadow, and it covered the sun like a closing fist. My hair was a wild brown spirit dancing in the… More
The world was raising. Thunderous canyons shot from below to meet my footsteps. Forests rose and died behind my back. Birds evolved and turned to dust before me. The sky was fire and shadow, and it covered the sun like a closing fist. My hair was a wild brown spirit dancing in the tempest. My consciousness tore apart into a thousand different pieces, each shot itself like a rocketship to a thousand stars. The moon crashed into the earth. Humanity begged to be. Civilization threw its hands up. Existence screamed. My body is an auditorium. Memory is music fading, acoustics wearing. Starlight is taxed. Clouds rule the universe. The bridges I walk end before they begin. All the islands and planets are sinking. An air just above me is a melancholy fragrance, and yellowness stains reality. The madness of my flesh is annihilated. I am just a tangle of wires choking a soul, stranded in a breath and under the dead mountains. The edge is deep. I let go, and fall back into a flock of glimmering crystal angels. I dream that they are building me beautiful white wings.
Alec B

The movie is ok nothing really special, but my God Annette Bening is fantastic she carries the entire film, in fact I think she should have won the oscar for the film, she didn't because the film was not widely known of and really. The final 20 minutes are essentially a showcase… More
The movie is ok nothing really special, but my God Annette Bening is fantastic she carries the entire film, in fact I think she should have won the oscar for the film, she didn't because the film was not widely known of and really. The final 20 minutes are essentially a showcase of a truly great actress. The final shot of the film is wonderful simply because Bening's face speaks volumes that words could never do.
William G

Bening casually commands on-/off-stage drama.
Sunil J

Annete Bening has never been more amazing and more controlling. Loved her performance in this.
Daisy M

<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> for some sexuality. Being Julia" was a delightful story about… More
<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> for some sexuality. Being Julia" was a delightful story about theatrical life, manipulation, love and revenge. Annette Bening was adorable in the role of Julia, a veteran actress that shines on stage. She fell in love with a guy younger then her, he used her, and she swore revenge. The end was wonderful and that made a difference. The music was also very beautiful and as always I love the acting of Jeremy Irons. Beautiful movie.