{"id":1858,"date":"2016-12-13T21:01:38","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T21:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=1858"},"modified":"2018-08-30T20:22:34","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T20:22:34","slug":"theatre-in-film-being-julia-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-being-julia-2004\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film: Being Julia (2004)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film: <em>Being Julia<\/em> (2004)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>December 13, 2016<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Welcome back to Theatre in Film, our weekly featurette on a\u00a0film that showcases\u00a0a life in the theatre. In Part VI of Theatre in Film, we focus on\u00a0films from 2003 to 2008 that feature characters overcoming internal and very personal struggles to find their happiness in a life of theatre. This week, we feature\u00a0<em>Being Julia\u00a0<\/em>from 2004, a film\u00a0in which a stage diva finds love, downfall, and redemption on the stage<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Being Julia\u00a0<\/em>(2004)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rl1XbWd2LpA?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Istv\u00e1n Szab\u00f3<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Starring:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon, Bruce Greenwood, Lucy Punch, and Shaun Evans<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">London stage diva Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is exhausted from her life of continuously acting in plays that she and her husband Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons) produce. She vocally wishes for \u201csomething to happen\u201d &#8212; a change from the repetition of her acting life. That \u201csomething\u201d arrives in the form of Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans), a young American accountant hired by Michael to attend to the married couple\u2019s finances. Julia is initially annoyed by the amorous Tom, but she soon finds herself smitten with him. They begin an affair shortly after their first meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over a period of months, Julia carries on with Tom while also having feelings for her longtime friend Lord Charles (Bruce Greenwood). During a country trip with Tom and Michael, she sees Tom flirting with Avice Crichton (Lucy Punch). Unbeknownst to Julia at first, Avice and Tom begin sleeping together. Tom promises Avice a role in Julia\u2019s new play, and sets up a meeting between the two women &#8212; a meeting that proves successful for Avice. The young girl is cast in the new production by Michael at the suggestion of Julia. Soon Michael and Avice begin an affair, and during the opening night performance, Julia embarrasses Avice by aggressively upstaging her. It is in this performance that Julia regains her power and reestablishes herself as London\u2019s foremost and most formidable stage actress.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being Julia <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">presents audiences with multiple issues that actors often struggle with, especially the issue of maintaining a personal identity. Julia\u2019s acting coach and longtime friend, Jimmie Langdon (Michael Gambon), appears as an imaginary figure and acts as a conscious. Langdon, dead for fifteen years, is not to be overlooked, however. His presence is that voice in the back of every actor\u2019s head that reminds them to keep a level head, to maneuver their way through a scene, or to fight for their own dignity. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, Julia\u2019s friends and family constantly tell her that she\u2019s got an act for everyone: for Dolly (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miriam Margolyes<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), her son Roger (Tom Sturridge), for Michael, and for Tom. No one is ever certain of whether she\u2019s acting or not, and Julia\u2019s relationships suffer because of her inability to let go of her \u201constage\u201d identity. She refrains from eating fatty foods, doesn\u2019t allow herself to indulge in her favorite beverage &#8212; beer, and maintains a rigid schedule of rehearsals, performances, and parties. Her inability to be essentially <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">human <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manifests her discontent in an unhealthy relationship. She\u2019s desperate to make a change, no matter how destructive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the end of the film, after she has publicly humiliated Avice and been praised as a genius by Michael (who regains respect her for), Julia attends her favorite restaurant by herself and orders a beer, indulging proudly in something that is so uniquely herself, sans the judgement and restrictions of her friends, family, and personal pride.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being Julia <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">teaches actors that they must be careful not to lose sight of who they are as people while still being able to maintain their passion and their ability to act.<\/span><\/p>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film is the second\u00a0featured in Part VI of \u201cTheatre in Film\u201d. See below for the others in Part VI.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-camp-2003\/\"><em>Camp\u00a0<\/em>(2003)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-stage-beauty-2004\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Stage Beauty<\/em>\u00a0(2004)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Mrs. Henderson Presents<\/em>\u00a0(2005)\u00a0<em>(Coming soon.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Me and Orson Welles\u00a0<\/em>(2008)\u00a0<em>(Coming soon.)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Want to start with\u00a0<strong>Part I<\/strong>? Begin with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=133\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(1933)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nMiss\u00a0<strong>Part II<\/strong>?\u00a0Check out\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/\"><strong><em>The Band Wagon<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>(1953)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nNeed a refresh for\u00a0<strong>Part III<\/strong>? Start with\u00a0our feature on\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-all-that-jazz-1979\/\">All That Jazz\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><strong>(1979)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nHow about a recap from\u00a0<strong>Part IV<\/strong>? Jump into\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-chorus-of-disapproval-1989\/\"><strong><em>A Chorus of Disapproval\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>(1989)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nCheck out\u00a0<strong>Part V<\/strong><em>,\u00a0<\/em>and start with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-an-awfully-big-adventure-1995\/\"><em><strong>An Awfully Big Adventure\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong>(1995)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\">Thumbnail image from\u00a0<em>Being Julia.\u00a0<\/em>Copyright Sony Pictures Classics, 2004<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[6,106,25,8,308,304,255,14,105,114],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}