Judy
Ten Second Review: A beautifully made and tender look at one of the best entertainers of the 20th Century.
This film really felt like it snuck up, or maybe I just wasn’t listening particularly closely. It feels like literally a month ago, maybe two, when I first heard about Judy. I must admit, I wasn’t 100% sold on the idea. I think I just have this reflex of cynicism when I hear that yet another music biopic has been made. It’s not necessarily an assertion that the film won’t be well made or enjoyable, but rather that it jumps on the band wagon of these films to capitalise on the popularity of the genre as well as the figure.
Judy chooses to focus closely on a specific time in the entertainer’s life - her run in Talk of the Town months before her death. It also features cut-ins to a young Judy in her early days at MGM. As her debts mount, and she is left basically homeless, Garland elects to take on a series of shows in London.
Many of these bio pics choose a section of the star’s life but having a particularly short frame like this really lets the film makers tell a deep and nuanced narrative. Garland’s London shows are used as a way of looking at the end of her life as the sum of its parts. It takes particular focus on her initial time working for MGM while she filmed Wizard of Oz, while making references to other parts of her life throughout.
Key to this film is to understand that liberties are taken with the truth of the tale in service to telling the broader story of her life. As someone not depicted, I can say that it worked well to build an image of an individual but I wonder if those in the story feel differently. Making clear that the story is a study of Judy and her life - not a hyper realistic retelling of her time in London - gives the filmmakers the room to explore her experiences with more licence than if they had chosen a stricter approach. The result is a moving and engaging film that has you exited to see its inevitable conclusion.
It also needs be mentioned that Zellweger really turns the party. In a role seemingly built for her talents, and in which we only ever see the occasional inflection of Bridget, she shines as a leading lady in the leading part. It takes quite the ability (not to mention soul) to do justice to Garland but Zellweger takes quite the shot and I would say she hits the mark. A more critical eye - or a huge Garland fan - may disagree, but for me it was excellent.
The film is not without its crimes; Jessie Buckley is grossly underused and her character, lacking in narrative depth, feels slightly detached from the main body of the film. A scene or two examining her initial attitudes or motivations may have helped to make her more sympathetic and in the long run more consequential. Her progression was “I think this woman is a joke” to “Gosh, isn’t she lovely!” with little in the way of justification for the change.
Overall the film is a good watch. It may ever so slightly damage your ability to enjoy the Wizard of Oz but an excellent film none the less. A rather raw bio pic that is a perfect platform to let Zellweger let loose and remind us of her talents.
