Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

HotToastyRag Jane Fonda stars as Lillian Hellman and Vanessa Redgrave stars as her friend, the title character, in Julia. The two women grow up together but take separate paths in adulthood. Lillian bonds with Dashiell Hammett, played by Jason Robards, and becomes a writer, and Julia goes to Oxford. In the years before WWII, Julia stands up to Nazis and gets punished for it, and when Lillian rushes to her to help, she finds herself involved in a dangerous and secret mission.While Jane is always very likable and easy to root for, her costar feels washed-out by comparison. Vanessa can't stand up to Jane's energy, and her performance is easily forgettable, even though she won an Academy Award for it. Jason Robards, also naturally grumpy and unlikable, also won an Oscar for his performance.I didn't end up liking this movie, and since there are hundreds of pre-WWII, anti-Nazi movies out there, I wouldn't really recommend watching this one unless you're a die-hard Vanessa Redgrave fan. I'm not, so I don't tend to enjoy her movies.

Scott-344 "Julia" holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first times I read a screenplay before seeing the film and was completely enthralled -- in suspense and moved to tears. Notice how characterization drives the slowly building suspense culminating in a fantastic third act devoid of pyrotechnics or gimmicks. (Never mind that the story is almost 100% fiction; this is adaptation at its finest.)A well-deserved Oscar-winner for Alvin Sargent, the script belongs on any screen writing student's bookshelf alongside "Chinatown" and "Ordinary People" two other Oscar-winners from the era. Confession - by "era" I mean from my USC screen writing class, where I also read terrific scripts like "Marathon Man" (the Hoffman-Devane-Keller lunch scene a textbook example of "reversal" writing), "Breaking Away" and "Cutter's Way."

Aamir Malik "Julia" is a great picture indeed. Performance of Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda are amazing. Ladies rule the Picture. Vanessa Redgrave's performance is superb especially in the scene of her meeting in the restaurant with Jane Fonda; the looks of her eyes, control of expressions, and commitment to her cause ...were all visible from her eyes. I think this is one of the best performances I have ever seen from an actress. Do not mind but I think that Jason Robards, though he is a great actor, but this time was lucky to win an Oscar for his performance just like winning of Oscar by Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby! One of the most noticeable thing is the performance of young Julia played by Lisa Pelikan. She is just amazing; no doubts.

classicalsteve We often learn about the past from text books and documentaries which detail larger conflicts, such as the rise of Nazism in Germany which leads to the Second World War. Although understanding the larger history is certainly important, experiencing a story about how individuals and their lives are forever changed by conflict can be as important and even more enlightening. "Julia" is a film chronicling how several people's lives are changed by the rise of fascism in Germany.The story is told by and centered on Lillian Hellman (Lilli, as portrayed by Jane Fonda, academy-nominated for Best Actress) about her childhood friend Julia (Vanessa Redgrave in an academy-award winning performance) who becomes an active force against fascism in Vienna and Germany before World War II. She originally comes from a wealthy family in Britain. As a minor, Julia resides with her grandparents in a country estate larger than many small towns in the mid-west, and her young friend Lillian often visits her. The younger Lilli and Julia are played by younger actors who are nearly as convincing as their older counterparts. Unlike her grandparents, Julia shows from a young age an interest in social issues and class inequity. The narrative often juxtaposes between Julia and Lilli when they are young and their lives as adults. But even when young, Julia and Lilli engage in discussions about social injustice. At one point, Julia recounts a visit to Cairo where she sees the immense and widespread poverty. When she comments on what she sees, her grandparents say "Don't look at them." The story also has another thread: Lillian Hellman, struggling female playwright living with the immortal Dashielle Hammet at a beach house probably near cape cod or Connecticut north of New York. She strives to write a good play. Hammett is her ultimate critic, and has no sympathy when she's unable to produce to her potential. The three narratives are constantly being interspersed: Lillian as a girl with her young friend Julia, Lillian as the struggling writer with Hammett, and her friendship with Julia as an adult. At one point, she finishes her first play, "The Children's Hour", which makes her a national and international celebrity.While we mostly see Julia in flashback, we meet Julia rarely in the present-moment of the narrative. The first is a devastating incident concerning extremists infiltrating and butchering members of a hospital where Julia works, probably providing care for the needy. Then later, when she is vacationing with friends from the US South in Paris, Lilli receives a message from Julia via a strange man, Johann (Maximilian Schell) who speaks about a cause and movement against Hitler. Julia and the members of the movement request Lillian to engage in a task, which at the forefront seems simple yet is potentially dangerous. Her mission is to transport something important from Paris to Berlin while she's on her way to Moscow. Trouble is, she's never played a secret agent before.Every once in awhile, a film which is both moving and insightful appears on the screen. "Julia", which at the beginning seems more like a character study of Lilli, Hammett, and Julia, until the sequence concerning her mission turns the story into a riveting plot. Underneath the entire experience are overtones about the rages and ultimate tragedy of fascism. This is by far my favorite performance by Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave, whose friendship appears like you might imagine two people who have known each other for a long time. A bit to my disappointment which in no way reflects on my view of the film, the character of Julia may be somewhat fictional. Hellman in her book Pentimento, which contains the novella entitled Julia for the which the film is based, may be a combination of fact and fiction. But either way, the story is compelling, plausible, and ultimately beautiful. Whether or not I believe in a real Julia, I believed in the character of the film and in Lilli, her beloved friend, and the story they tell.