Julia

Julia is an ugly and despicable character, and the only reason I kept watching past the 30 minute mark was to see her dig deeper and deeper into the hole she finds herself in. (So, Swinton should be commended.) It turns into a pretty complex and engaging story, but I feel it runs longer than it really needs to and the hand-held directing style was sometimes disorienting.

Long and perplexed; actually upon learning that it was directed by two persons I realized that the inherent double-sided confusion in the movie where everything moves from one pole to another seemed much more understandable. Tilda Swinton isn't giving her best performance but it's solid.

A very off-kilter combination of crime thriller, character drama and road movie. As a result, its shifts in mood and pacing are occasionally awkward or jarring, but it manages to be quite coherent despite this. And at its heart is Swinton as the titular character, giving an absolutely amazing performance, finding both the virtues and the (massive) character flaws of a low-bottom, alcoholic, deranged criminal.

Tilda Swinton's performance is someting special, outrageous and rare. Tremendous and demented.

Tilda Swinton overacts throughout this chaotic film as a drunk floozy who kidnaps a child. There are some interesting characters in this and its well paced despite its length, but I can't recommend it.

Brilliantly constructed and conceived thrill ride may not have been written for Swinton, but I cannot think of another actress who could take the audience on such a wild (and fraught) journey while keeping us engrossed every step of the way; a rare thriller with a familiar set-up that stretches that set-up as far as it will go so that by the second act, we could be literally being led anywhere – though it remains completely sure-footed and uncompromising right up to its perfect finale.

Bardzo dobry film

Despite being uneven, overlong, and even absurd, this film still manages to be consistently interesting to watch. And Tilda Swinton, as always, is terrific.

This was a really gripping watch - its a film about double crossing. Tilda Swinton gives a brilliant performance (it's hard to gauge when her character is being truthful or not) and it kept me guessing. The ending is pretty suspenseful. I would definitely recommend this film, yes.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

Blistering performance by Swinton, who makes no attempt to soften Julia, yet her relationship with the (very good) child actor Gould is ultimately quite moving. A nail biter at times, with bursts of shocking violence and little time for the sentiment that one would expect from this type of film.

I loved her every minute!!

Everything hinges on Swinton's performance, and she definitely delivers. Julia's descent into darkness as she makes wrong decision after wrong decision is pretty painful and fascinating to watch. At times you even start to feel a little sorry for the character, until you realise you're rooting for an burnt-out alcoholic liar.

"Zonca's story is an unruly beast, lurching this way and that like a biker hopped up on mescaline and paint thinner, its unpredictable rowdiness in sync with its out-of-control protagonist." - Nick Schager

Good film.

Great film, but stressful to watch if you have a kid that age. Tilda Swinton was great, totally outside of her usual range. The other star was the costume/wardrobe person.

The plot is all over the place but never fails to be engaging. It almost goes without saying, but Tilda Swinton gives a phenomenal performance. I dare say she's the most talented, versatile actress working today. Her character here is one that most actors simply couldn't pull off - a balancing act of virtuous and abhorrent, at times sympathetic and at others despicable. In other words, a real person.

The plot of "Julia" - which follows an unlikely female criminal - is a little bit out there, granted, but everything works just enough to keep you with it, and it's all fascinating and quite unique, notwithstanding the faintest echoes of Cassavetes' "Gloria". It's also one of my favorite Swinton roles, despite or perhaps because of how extremely American it is - and I wouldn't say against-type, but uncharacteristic. Engrossing.

It's not often that I feel a movie can be enjoyed solely on the strength of one actor's performance, but this is an exception. The plot, while not terrible, stretches the bounds of credulity and seems a mismatch for the incredible realism of Swinton's character. No portrayal of a long-term substance abuser has ever struck me as this true-to-life. If you don't know somebody just like this, you probably will someday.

The film has a bracing grim tone and a proclivity for tightening-noose plotting. Even the worst choices made the characters are full understandable given the attentive development of their psychological underpinnings. Swinton gives it her all, and if that sometimes involves a shade too much intensity in the biggest scenes, when she moves on from that to spend as much time working with Zonca to keep the plot spinning as she is is wallowing in her character's degradation, she's quite spectacular.