Judy

We have seen many biopics of grandiose and with pivotal characters in our history throughout the last 20 years and even prior. The list is endless, however a handful come to mind: "Patton" '70, "The Queen" '06, "The Iron Lady" '11, "Hyde Park on Hudson" '12, "Jackie" '16, "The Darkest Hour" '17 to mention a few. As Hollywood is fascinated with biopics, it was not surprising to see one about Frances Gumm aka Judy Garland in the riveting "Judy",

 

Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It turns out that she is basically a has-been in the states, however London still loves her. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in "The Wizard of Oz", but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown, as she prepares for the show, battles with management, namely Bernard Delfont (Michael Gambon) of The Talk of the Town and her assistant, Rosalyn Wilder (Jessie Buckley), charms musicians including Burt (Royce Pierreson), the musical director and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with good friend Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the tumultuous and eclectic life of the entertainer as she faces the end of her illustrious career.

 

Others to round out the cast are Rufus Sewell as Sidney Luft, an ex-husband of Garland's, Bella Ramsey as Lorna Luft, daughter of Garland's, Gemma-Leah Devereux as Liza Minnelli, daughter of Garland's, Gaia Weiss as Abbie, Andy Nyman as Dan, John Dagleish as Lonnie Donegan, Phil Dunster as Ben, Darci Shaw as young Judy, Richard Cordery as Louis B. Mayer and Daniel Cerqueira as Stan.

 

This was deliciously and dramatically directed by Rupert Goold ("True Story" '15, "King Charles III" (TV movie) '17) plus a good deal of episodic TV. I've mentioned it before, and I'll say it again, this is exquisitely directed by a virtual newcomer to feature films because of his insurmountable work in episodic TV. This only allows him to hone his craft that much more. They way he was able to stage and pace Zellweger in getting her to emit that certain emotion given the appropriate scene was amazing. It was brilliantly written by an even newer writer for films, Tom Edge ("The Last Dragonslayer" (TV movie) '16) plus episodic TV and a video game, based on the stageplay "End of the Rainbow" by Peter Quilter. The film actually starts in 1939 with a young Judy (Darci Shaw) being talked to by producer Louis B. Mayer (Richard Cordery) on the set of "The Wizard of Oz" about her importance of the film at hand. Then it shoots ahead to her in the late '60's attempting to strive in her life. The film goes back and forth from her early years to her later years which shows us how the two eras connected. Edge's work of how tragic her life was and how it really fell apart was delineated with a fine-tuned edge. From her being an abused child to being manipulated by the Hollywood community when she was young to having one failed marriage after another all the while hiding her addiction problems showed us how tragic, but also how talented this entertainer was. Edge conveyed this in spades in this screenplay. And, of course, the real star here is Zellweger herself. Here she hasn't done too much lately, this film didn't receive a ton of press before release, so it comes in through the back door, and voila!, we see an outstanding film with a performance by Zellweger that will certainly give her an Oscar nod. There were times I had to keep telling myself that it wasn't Judy Garland up on that screen. The tonality, the movements, the look, the nuances--Zellweger nailed Garland!

 

Whether one is interested in biopics or not, this film is undeniably an inexhaustible portrayal of an entertaining icon of films, concerts and music. Some aspects we know about Judy, however in this, more layers were peeled. Between Zellweger's performance, Edge's tight script and Ole Bratt Birkeland's stunning photography, this will be 2 hours of fine filmmaking that is difficult to find in this day and age of lifeless, boring films. Enjoy! I know I did.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                          Rated: PG-13                                    119mins.