Julia (2009) Critic Reviews

Tilda Swinton hasn't often been more fascinating than in Julia, a nerve-wracking thriller with a twisty plot and startling realism.Read the full review

In tone and plot, Julia often resembles an extended episode of the AMC series "Breaking Bad"--except that Swinton's character is never NOT bad.Read the full review

As Julia, Swinton belongs to that league of great cinematic alcoholics such as Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses" and Ray Milland in "The Lost Weekend." As an action character, she naturally evokes Gena Rowlands without ever trying to resemble her.Read the full review

Ms. Swinton demands to be seen even when her character is on a self-annihilating bender so real that you can almost smell the stink rising off her. So I sat in my seat, cursed the screen and was grateful to watch an actress at the height of her expressive power claw toward greatness.Read the full review

Goes to all the places a sensitive character study might have gone, but more dramatically, convincingly and vividly.Read the full review

This overlong, lurchy homage to John Cassavetes' 1980 film "Gloria" is a mess, but a fascinating one, given Swinton's desperately avid performance in the title role.Read the full review

As Julia struggles to survive her bad decisions, the film struggles to survive Julia. We never get a good look at her demons, just the havoc they wreak.Read the full review