A few days ago my niece and I went to see the movie, Julie and Julia. It exceeded all my expectations. Certainly, it transcends its romantic comedy, “chick flick” genre.
Meryl Streep… what is there to say that hasn’t been said a thousand times over the past thirty years? Her performance isn’t an imitation of Julia Child as I remember her from countless television appearances. Instead, it’s as though the graceful, 5’7″, soft-spoken actress simply leaves her body, and allows it to be inhabited by the slightly awkward, 6’2″ woman with the voice that trills up and down like water cascading over rock. Julia is exuberant and vibrantly alive.
Stanley Tucci, who plays Julia’s husband, Paul, is another of my favorite actors. While a lesser performer might have been overpowered by Streep, Tucci effortlessly holds his own in every scene. According to all accounts, the actual Paul Child was completely confident in his own masculinity, deeply in love with Julia, and utterly committed to helping her achieve everything she wanted. Tucci captures every nuance of that, along with Paul’s anger and frustration as he deals with the influence of McCarthyism on his career in the State Department.
Amy Adams’ role as Julie Powell is not nearly as demanding, but she hits every note perfectly. She’s cute, of course (like a young Sally Field, she can’t really escape her essential cuteness), but she’s also fearless in showing us Julie’s human shortcomings. In fact, every performance in the movie is pitch perfect.
The film is gorgeous and sensual, from the street scenes in Paris to the rich, beautifully lit interiors, to the food. Oh, the food!
But most of all, I love good writing, and Nora Ephron is a great writer. She had access to a wealth of personal material, from which she has woven two parallel stories about happily-married women struggling to find a sense of direction and purpose in their lives. On that level, the movie is certainly satisfying. It is also a wonderful re-creation of a period in time, from the end of World War II through the early 1960s.
What makes the movie extraordinary, however, is its positive outlook. Without ever veering into trite sentimentality, Ephron shows us how rich life, and relationships, can be. And the movie is not just about relationships between husbands and wives, but between friends, collaborators and family members. At the same time, it is a very funny movie. I loved one hilarious scene in which Julia and the two co-authors of her French cookbook meet for lunch at a sidewalk cafe, and engage in some necessary conflict resolution.
Julia and her husband are really good at having fun, whatever challenges they face. The Powells, perhaps because they are younger and don’t have the benefit of perspective, perhaps in part because of struggles with money, aren’t having quite as much fun. Still, they gamely move forward, seeking more joy in their lives. In fact, facing life with courage is one of the subtler themes of Julie and Julia.
The film is filled with little gems: a Valentines Day dinner party, a flirtation between future lovers, the receipt of a letter with good news. One brief moment keeps replaying in my mind. After years of hoping for love, Julia’s sister has just been married. She and her groom are dancing, along with Julia and Paul and the other wedding guests. The camera pans out, and from above the dancers, we see the sisters reach out and clasp each others’ hands. In that small gesture, we feel the devotion of a whole lifetime.