Miss Julie

I'd have to agree with a few others- the acting is brilliant (I'd expect nothing else from this bunch) and the idea is there, but the pacing was painfully slow (no, I do NOT prefer action movies over dramas and yes, I LOVE period pieces). Even though it's over two hours long, I didn't feel connected to any character, which I believe is because of how it was filmed, not the actors, because again, they were committed and believable. All in all, not a total waste of time, but I won't be watching it again and will likely forget about it fairly soon.

I kept searching for a reason to care about these people and what they're going through. "It's a classic." "View it in the context of the time." Nothing. Nothing worked. A lot of the problem is how it was shot. At least on stage you can choose to watch the other character's reaction. But here, Ullmann keeps cutting to the person who is speaking, rarely cutting away. The repetitive style does not build tension, but monotony. Even great acting couldn't save it.

It's 1890 Ireland. The people are out for the Midsummer Night's Eve celebration. John (Colin Farrell) is a valet at a country estate. He's in love with the cook Kathleen (Samantha Morton). While the Baron is away, his daughter Miss Julie (Jessica Chastain) is the mistress of the manor. She keeps pushing herself onto John despite his relationship with Kathleen.

This is a 19th century Swedish play put on the big screen. It's got three great actors who are bringing their all to this thing, accents aside. While these actors are trying their best, the movie is mostly empty inside. There is nothing more than a play being thrown onto the big screen. The characters don't get much set up. It's hard to get inside the morality of the times. It's hard to feel for these characters. There are things lost in translation in time and space. One can admire the acting but it's hard to care about this movie.

Adapted from a play, the film does have a very theater-like mood, portraying just three characters, besides a dog (well, and a yellow bird) and an unseen mob (and an unseen and unheard baron), with dialogues that not always fit naturally. The first 40 minutes portray an intriguing cruel game between the daughter of the owner of the estate and a servant, a game where passion, class, deeds, appearances, everything are interwined. However, although the film kept that very uncomfortable atmosphere, the duel became quite inconsistent, and consequently less engaging. Except for the nice lines of his fiancée, at 1h30, characters behave in too contradictory ways, which make no sense in my opinion even considering increasingly appearant madness of Miss Julie. Despite all those problems, I cannot help but mention that Jessica Chastain has a powerful performance in very different moments, in a broad range varying from femme fatale to lunatic.

I'm not familiar with the source material, but the movie version of it, will not be everyones cup of tea. It feels like a drag and the pacing is slow to say the least. The characters seem to be stuck at a place where it'll be hard to feel something for them. Having said all that, the acting is superb and if you like your drama to be slow paced, but filled with dialog to make you think about, this could be exactly the one you were looking for.

It never did have the punch or the feeling that it could be something great to me, but that's always in the eye of the beholder and might feel different for people who know more about it (more familiar with source material) than myself. It also feels like it is way too long for its own good. While good, there are things that make this tough to watch ...