The cast were the biggest draw into seeing 'Being Julia', hard to resist such great talent like Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon and Juliet Stevenson. W. Somerset Maugham was an interesting writer, some say that he is old-fashioned and his work hasn't aged well but to me he deserves being celebrated and love his insight, wit, sharp prose and charm, which deserves to be adapted more on film and the general solid standard of the adaptations seen of his proves this.
'Being Julia' does nothing to waste its talent and is well worth seeing, deserving of its generally favourable reviews here. As an adaptation of the book, it leaves a lot to be desired with much cut out and too many of the characters are underwritten due to their roles being reduced. On its own, as a standalone which has always been a fairer way to judge to me, 'Being Julia' is very good. It may not work for some viewers, some may find it over-the-top and affected while many others will find it entertaining and well made and played, count me in in the latter category.
Absolutely agree with all that Annette Bening is the reason to see 'Being Julia'. She is nothing short of amazing and is the absolute embodiment of Julia. One mustn't overlook the rest of the cast, Michael Gambon is splendid and a clear standout. Jeremy Irons does a great and beautifully restrained job as the rather underwritten character of Michael, while Lucy Punch is radiant and Juliet Stevenson enjoys herself thoroughly. Likewise with Miriam Margoyles. Istvan Szabo gets a lot out of the cast and the chemistry throughout is natural, also balancing the material without being overly-theatrical or too stagy.
It is a good looking film, those costumes of Julia's are to die for in particular. The music captures the period with great affection and fits without being obtrusive or being over-obvious, very beautiful and infectious. The script is sharp, amusing and thoughtful, like Maugham's writing, love the witticisms. The story entertains and moves, with a twist that leaves one floored and while the ending is over the top it does stay with one forever. Anybody wanting a likeable or rootable protagonist will be disappointed, but she isn't meant to be.
Did think that two performances didn't work. Shaun Evans has improved significantly over-time, absolutely love him in 'Endeavour', but he is rather colourless in 'Being Julia' and it is not helped by Tom being very underdeveloped and cliffs-notes like. More problematic is Bruce Greenwood, of all my recently seen film viewings Greenwood is among the biggest miscasts and comes over as out-of-place (and it is not just that he is completely unconvincing as a Brit, everything about him was wrong).
Some of the pace could have been tighter at times, towards the end it drags a bit.
Overall though, found myself liking it very much. 8/10
