Julia Review
A 1970s "new" women's film starring two of the period's more outspoken activist actresses, Julia (1977) wistfully examines the power of female bonding as depicted in one of playwright Lillian_Hellman's memoirs. Bookended by shots of Jane_Fonda's aged Lillian meditating on her life, Julia unfolds in a series of occasionally over-gauzy flashbacks portraying the impact of two key figures on Hellman's existence. Even as Jason_Robards' mentor/lover Dashiell_Hammett is crucial to Lillian's 1930s success, it is Vanessa_Redgrave's Resistance fighter Julia who proves to be the more powerful presence, whether as a memory or in the ethereal flesh. Regardless of the story's status as one of Hellman's infamous, ahem, embellishments of reality, Julia remains a compelling story of female friendship, particularly in Fonda's and Redgrave's intense hands. Director Fred_Zinnemann surrounds the pair with a high-class period production that perfectly captures both Lillian's American salon society and Julia's war-torn Europe; Robards and Maximilian_Schell make the most of their supporting roles. Julia's expert craft garnered 11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and won three, allowing passionately left-wing, pro-PLO winner Redgrave to take her politics to the podium and make herself persona non grata at the Oscars. Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
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