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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Judy (2019) in Movies
Oct 2, 2019
Judy, is the biopic based on the stage play “End of the Rainbow” which chronicles Judy Garland’s five week run in 1968 London, at The Talk of the Town Nightclub. Ms. Garland, one of the victims of the old Hollywood studio treatments that contributed to her tragic upbringing.
The ever malleable Renee Zellweger embodies Judy Garland throughout this film. Ms. Garland’s physical affectations are translated to the screen so much that we are transported , convinced that she is Judy. Yet, there are a couple of moments where the mask slips and we see Ms. Zellweger instead .
The film begins with Judy working, doing a show at an event and being paid very much less than she has in the past. She is uninsurable, unreliable and absolutely inconsistent. Her lifelong habits have taken most of who she was and she keeps getting up every time to keep fighting.
She also has custody of her two kids, Lorna and Joe Luft. She does not have a place to call home to provide a stable environment for the children. Their father Sid Luft is challenging custody and Judy has provided enough fodder to have custody of her children revert to their father. Her intent is to be a good mother, as opposed to the parent she had growing up.
Flashbacks are cut in throughout the movie, showing her on the set of the Wizard of Oz with Louis B. Mayer, at a movie set where they film a choreographed birthday party for Judy.
We are shown how terribly manipulative and cruel the studio system was towards the actresses back then. The pills, starvation, demands, and gaslighting had created the person that was Judy.
The movie is about the tragedy that was Judy Garland’s life. However, there are many points of light in her life and we are shown that in the movie. Judy is definitely a film blanketed with the shadows of sadness from her life.
The transition of Zellweger to Judy who explained had a distracting flaw that I struggled with. Ms. Zellweger has a pleasant voice, but she is not Ms. Garland who’s lovely voice with rich timbre is beautifully unique.
Very dramatic film, such a transformative performance by Renee Zellweger.
The ever malleable Renee Zellweger embodies Judy Garland throughout this film. Ms. Garland’s physical affectations are translated to the screen so much that we are transported , convinced that she is Judy. Yet, there are a couple of moments where the mask slips and we see Ms. Zellweger instead .
The film begins with Judy working, doing a show at an event and being paid very much less than she has in the past. She is uninsurable, unreliable and absolutely inconsistent. Her lifelong habits have taken most of who she was and she keeps getting up every time to keep fighting.
She also has custody of her two kids, Lorna and Joe Luft. She does not have a place to call home to provide a stable environment for the children. Their father Sid Luft is challenging custody and Judy has provided enough fodder to have custody of her children revert to their father. Her intent is to be a good mother, as opposed to the parent she had growing up.
Flashbacks are cut in throughout the movie, showing her on the set of the Wizard of Oz with Louis B. Mayer, at a movie set where they film a choreographed birthday party for Judy.
We are shown how terribly manipulative and cruel the studio system was towards the actresses back then. The pills, starvation, demands, and gaslighting had created the person that was Judy.
The movie is about the tragedy that was Judy Garland’s life. However, there are many points of light in her life and we are shown that in the movie. Judy is definitely a film blanketed with the shadows of sadness from her life.
The transition of Zellweger to Judy who explained had a distracting flaw that I struggled with. Ms. Zellweger has a pleasant voice, but she is not Ms. Garland who’s lovely voice with rich timbre is beautifully unique.
Very dramatic film, such a transformative performance by Renee Zellweger.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Judy (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Neither a true biopic nor a musical, a very sad and sombre film worth seeing for a sure-fire nominee for Zellweger for the Oscars.
Decline and Fall (Part 1).
This is an extremely sombre film. I will go as far as saying that it is well-and-truly a “Father Ted” film (see glossary).
The Story.
Young Judy Garland is a starlet in the MGM studio system run by Louis B. Mayer (a villainous Richard Cordery). She doesn’t have a life outside of the movies; is fed diet pills and “pep-pills” that destroy her sleep; and she is starting to get fed up with it all. No wonder then that she grows up to be an alcoholic insomniac with a trail of failed marriages and a temperamental nature.
Thus, through flash-backs to the young Judy (the English Darci Shaw, in her movie debut) we track the older Judy (Renée Zellweger) through the last tragic years of her life. Unable to work, due to a reputation that proceeds her, she is forced to take up the offer from Bernard Delfont (Michael Gambon) of a residency at London’s “Talk of the Town”. This separates her from her older daughter (Liza Minnelli played by Gemma-Leah Devereux) and, crucially, her younger children Lorna (Bella Ramsey) and Joey (Lewin Lloyd). (Their Dad is Sidney Luft (“Victoria’s” Rufus Sewell): hence Lorna being Lorna Luft). This separation increases Judy’s mental decline.
Also in a constant state of stress is Rosalyn Wilder (Jessie Buckley) who has the unenviable job of trying to keep Garland on the straight and narrow to perform every night.
A Towering Performance.
Whatever I think about the film overall (and we’ll come to that), this is 100% the “Renée Zellweger show”. It’s an extraordinary performance, and is pitch perfect, both in terms of capturing Garland’s mannerisms and vocal style. If Zellweger doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this then I’ll eat my favourite orange baseball hat! I’ll have to review the final short-list, but I would not be remotely surprised if she won for this.
Elsewhere is the cast, Michael Gambon gives a reliable performance as Delfont (his second depiction this year after the turn by Rufus Jones in “Stan and Ollie“!) and the rising star that is Jessie Buckley is also effective as Wilder in a much quieter role than we’re used to seeing her in.
Musical? Or biopic?
Is this a musical? Or a biopic? Or neither? Actually, I would suggest it’s neither. There’s been a curious split in the last year between films like “Bohemian Rhapsody“, which were biopics with music, to “Rocketman” which was very much a musical based around a biopic.
“Judy” can’t be classed as a musical since (and I checked my watch) the first musical number doesn’t come until FORTY MINUTES into the picture. Neither is it a true biopic, focusing only on a few short months of Garland’s extensive career, the ‘young Judy’ scenes being nothing but short flashbacks to set the scene. This probably makes sense, else a true biopic of the wonder that was Judy Garland would have turned into a 4 hour plus epic!
A rough ride, but could I care?
Above all, it’s a depressing watch, like seeing a sick animal in distress. But I never felt the film got to the heart of the matter to really make me CARE enough. The nearest it gets is with a moving portion where Judy makes the evening (if not the lifetime) of some super-fans – Dan (Andy Nyman) and Stan (Daniel Cerqueira). She goes home with them for omelettes and a sing-song: a strong nod towards Garland’s extensive following, even today, among the gay community. The finale, where the couple try to salvage an on-stage psychiatric session by Judy is touching but, for me, not tear-inducing.
The screenplay is by Tom Edge, from the stage play by Peter Quilter. The director is relative movie-newcomer Rupert Goold.
I liked this movie, but did I like it enough to rush and see it again? No, not really. Worth seeing though to appreciate the odds-on favourite (surely!) for the Best Actress Oscar of this year.
This is an extremely sombre film. I will go as far as saying that it is well-and-truly a “Father Ted” film (see glossary).
The Story.
Young Judy Garland is a starlet in the MGM studio system run by Louis B. Mayer (a villainous Richard Cordery). She doesn’t have a life outside of the movies; is fed diet pills and “pep-pills” that destroy her sleep; and she is starting to get fed up with it all. No wonder then that she grows up to be an alcoholic insomniac with a trail of failed marriages and a temperamental nature.
Thus, through flash-backs to the young Judy (the English Darci Shaw, in her movie debut) we track the older Judy (Renée Zellweger) through the last tragic years of her life. Unable to work, due to a reputation that proceeds her, she is forced to take up the offer from Bernard Delfont (Michael Gambon) of a residency at London’s “Talk of the Town”. This separates her from her older daughter (Liza Minnelli played by Gemma-Leah Devereux) and, crucially, her younger children Lorna (Bella Ramsey) and Joey (Lewin Lloyd). (Their Dad is Sidney Luft (“Victoria’s” Rufus Sewell): hence Lorna being Lorna Luft). This separation increases Judy’s mental decline.
Also in a constant state of stress is Rosalyn Wilder (Jessie Buckley) who has the unenviable job of trying to keep Garland on the straight and narrow to perform every night.
A Towering Performance.
Whatever I think about the film overall (and we’ll come to that), this is 100% the “Renée Zellweger show”. It’s an extraordinary performance, and is pitch perfect, both in terms of capturing Garland’s mannerisms and vocal style. If Zellweger doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this then I’ll eat my favourite orange baseball hat! I’ll have to review the final short-list, but I would not be remotely surprised if she won for this.
Elsewhere is the cast, Michael Gambon gives a reliable performance as Delfont (his second depiction this year after the turn by Rufus Jones in “Stan and Ollie“!) and the rising star that is Jessie Buckley is also effective as Wilder in a much quieter role than we’re used to seeing her in.
Musical? Or biopic?
Is this a musical? Or a biopic? Or neither? Actually, I would suggest it’s neither. There’s been a curious split in the last year between films like “Bohemian Rhapsody“, which were biopics with music, to “Rocketman” which was very much a musical based around a biopic.
“Judy” can’t be classed as a musical since (and I checked my watch) the first musical number doesn’t come until FORTY MINUTES into the picture. Neither is it a true biopic, focusing only on a few short months of Garland’s extensive career, the ‘young Judy’ scenes being nothing but short flashbacks to set the scene. This probably makes sense, else a true biopic of the wonder that was Judy Garland would have turned into a 4 hour plus epic!
A rough ride, but could I care?
Above all, it’s a depressing watch, like seeing a sick animal in distress. But I never felt the film got to the heart of the matter to really make me CARE enough. The nearest it gets is with a moving portion where Judy makes the evening (if not the lifetime) of some super-fans – Dan (Andy Nyman) and Stan (Daniel Cerqueira). She goes home with them for omelettes and a sing-song: a strong nod towards Garland’s extensive following, even today, among the gay community. The finale, where the couple try to salvage an on-stage psychiatric session by Judy is touching but, for me, not tear-inducing.
The screenplay is by Tom Edge, from the stage play by Peter Quilter. The director is relative movie-newcomer Rupert Goold.
I liked this movie, but did I like it enough to rush and see it again? No, not really. Worth seeing though to appreciate the odds-on favourite (surely!) for the Best Actress Oscar of this year.