Julia
© KinoweltWith glassy eyes and lasciviously opened lips, Julia (Tilda Swinton) dances through the clubs of L.A. Every night. In the morning she wakes up next to strange men. Somewhere. In the car or in a strange apartment. Then she stumbles away on her high heels, oversleeping the next day and all his obligations. Julia is 40, an alcoholic and a notorious liar. When she loses her job, she gets carried away by her mentally unstable neighbor (Kate del Castillo) to abduct their eight-year-old son Tom (Aidan Gould) from the care of his rich grandfather. The jointly planned deal Julia leads after a dispute by itself. In the hope that the millionaire ransom money can free their lives from the desolation, the completely overburdened perpetrator goes with the 8-year-old boy in tow on an uncertain path - and gets caught up in the consequences of their own action more and more.
Relentless physicality
© KinoweltDirector Erick Zonca shows a Tilda Swinton we have not seen before. The tender, graceful Briton becomes a woman with drooping bra straps, broken fingernails and slutty gold jewelry. At night, it still looks seductive, but when you wake up in the morning sun, you see the sweat crawling out of your pores and you think it tastes like it. She plays the role of the disgusting drunk so convincingly and with such a physicality that one feels disgust. And compassion.
From Saul to Paul
© KinoweltErick Zonca dares to pay homage to John Cassavete's gangster-brute classic "Gloria", which is about a woman in New York fleeing a mafia boy, an unusual genre mix. In the beginning, the film is reminiscent of a character study that depicts the life of a disillusioned drinker, later becoming a vintage American road movie with an action-packed chase under California desert sunshine. In the end, the tide turns: Julia turns from an enemy to the hunted and the movie into a fast-paced gangster thriller.
The 138-minute film deals with Julia's emotional change. The initial shocking mercilessness with which she encounters the boy becomes ever milder, until she finally gives way to mother feelings that make her act selfless for the first time.
Conclusion
© KinoweltThe film Julia lives from the masterpiece of his leading actress. The Oscar winner Tilda Swinton shines through authenticity and comfort thereby also over lengthy storylines away. Although Zonca tugs at the audience's nerves with his film, he always creates such powerful moments that he remains tied up.
