Julia is a 2008 French made crime thriller starring Tilda Swinton. Shot in California and Mexico, it was inspired by the John Cassavetes film Gloria.
JULIA is a uniquely unnerving, edge-of-your-seat thriller, starring critically acclaimed Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton in a tour-de-force performance. Julia is an alcoholic; unreliable, manipulative and a compulsive liar, all strung out beneath her flamboyant exterior. Between vodka and one-night stands, she gets by on nickel-and-dime jobs. Increasingly lonely, her alcohol-induced confusion reinforces her belief that life has dealt her a losing hand so she is not to blame for the mess she has made of it.
Glimpsing imminent perdition, a chance encounter with a Mexican woman convinces Julia to engage in a violent kidnapping and eventual murder as much in panic and despair as for financial gain. Her journey becomes a headlong collision course and inevitable choice of life over death.
Awards
- National Board of Review USA 2009 – Won Top Independent Films
- Chicago International Film Festival 2008 – Nominated Gold Hugo for Best Feature
- Berlin International Film Festival 2008 – Nominated Golden Berlin Bear
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2009 – 2nd place Best Actress Tilda Swinton
- Evening Standard British Film Awards 2009 – Won Best Actress Tilda Swinton
- London Critics Circle Film Awards 2009 – Nominated ALFS Award British Actress of the Year Tilda Swinton
Review by Roger Ebert
“…a nerve-wracking thriller with a twisty plot and startling realism…“Julia” should have a big ad campaign and be making a lot of noise, stirring up word-of-mouth. It’s being treated as an art film. It’s good enough to be an art film, but don’t let anyone pigeonhole it for you. It’s one doozy of a great thriller. And the acting here is as good as it gets — not just from Swinton, but from Saul Rubinek as her one remaining friend, and by Bruno Bichir as Diego, who she meets in Tijuana. You want to be careful who you meet in Tijuana. Swinton here is amazing. She goes for broke and wins big time.”