Year: 2019
Director: Ruper Goold
Country: US
Language: English
Perhaps I'm a bit of a biased reviewer in regards to this biopic because I am utterly fascinated by the career of Judy Garland. I love Meet Me in St.Louis (1944), was swept away by For Me and My Gal (1942), and constantly revisit A Star is Born (1954). I've read her biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland and I've even seen her variety series The Judy Garland Show (1963-1964). I've been looking forward to seeing Zellwegger as the iconic actress for the better part of a year.
Upon learning of her declining health and bank account, Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
An adpation of Peter Quilter's play End of the Rainbow, Rupert Goold's Judy is a tale of tragedy and hope. Of attempting to overcome one's demons (in Judy's case, alcoholism) while also being consumed by them. It feels more honest and humble than last years' major biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, treating Garland like a human being with a considerable amount of flaws. As Garland says in the film "I'm only a superstar when I'm onstage for an hour, the rest of the time I have to deal with the same problems everybody else has."
Though I feel Zellweger's performance has been over-hyped, there is no doubt that she deserves a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. She achieves in making Garland a sympathetic character- despite the "you did this to yourself" trainwreck moments. Few actors could touch our hearts just 20 minutes after the character drunkenly bullies their audience onstage.
Judy (2019) is not the most structurally fluid film, sometimes awkwardly transitioning from one scene to another & also seemingly forgetting about secondary characters (the fight with the husband is never resolved). I also think the film leans too heavily on Judy's demons; the Wizard of Oz star had plenty positive moments throughout her life that are not featured here.
It's hard to rate this picture, as I would rather people spend their time watching one of Garland's MGM musicals than Judy (2019). It's a decent - but flawed - biopic that, while entertaining, doesn't give you a true understanding of her genius the way her movies do.
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