- Actors: Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Renée Zellweger
- Director: Rupert Goold
- Disc Format: NTSC, Subtitled
- Language: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: Parents Strongly CautionedPG-13
- Studio: Lions Gate
- Release Date: December 24, 2019
If it’s award season, you can be sure that
there will be a number of performance-driven biopics. It is a genre that has
continued without much alteration over the years, often focusing on romantic
troubles, substance addiction, traumatic childhoods, and careers either on the
rise or fall. Judy is no exception,
and if it weren’t for Renée Zellweger’s performance as Hollywood legend Judy
Garland, I would have little reason to recommend it.
In typical
Hollywood fashion, Zellweger took months of singing lessons and utilized make-up
tricks to better imitate the beloved singer. But while the resemblance is
fairly close, it is in her adoption of small behavior and facial tics that Zellweger
captures the spirit of Garland, as well as her sadness. And the sadness is
mostly what Judy focused on. The film
begins as she is forced to part with the children from her second marriage,
unable to afford custody of them. She travels to London to perform in a series
of sold-out concerts, bringing with her all of the baggage of a life fading out
of the spotlight.
Between the
performances in London, which vary from brilliant to a drunken mess, the film
wallows in Garland’s loneliness off-stage. Through flashbacks of a childhood
abused on sets and used for publicity, the very things that Garland desires at
the end of her life seem to be what she was trying to escape in her younger
ones. Either way, she is portrayed as a victim at both ends of the narrative. Judy even alludes to a climate of harassment
which aligns it with the themes in Bombshell,
another film with the biopic structure and utilizing make-up effects to alter
the appearance of otherwise recognizable stars.
Mostly Garland
remains a mystery in Judy, a
confusing contradiction of desires to remain onstage while seeming to
simultaneously want nothing more than to be done performing. She is incredibly
lonely, but also tends to push those around her away. One of the film’s most
touching moments comes after an evening performing when Garland asks an aging
gay couple to dinner with her, despite it being long after any restaurant is
still open. This is one of the few moments in the film with complete focus, and
perhaps the only one that doesn’t take place onstage. I wanted more from those
characters, which made me realize I was left wanting more from the film.
The musical
performances by Zellweger are a marvel to watch, but that has more to do with
her ability to mirror Garland’s style than any real translation in talent. That’s
not to say that Zellweger cannot sing, but even though she is able to imitate Judy
Garland, she is still not Judy Garland. These take up a surprisingly small
amount of the run-time, however, and there are as many performances where she
is too drunk to impress either audience, diegetic or non-diegetic. In the end,
this is as much the lamentation of a sad life in show business as it is a
celebration of Garland’s talent.
The Blu-ray
release of this Golden Globe winner comes with a making-of featurette, as well
as a gallery of behind-the-scenes/promotional photographs. The high definition disc
also comes with a DVD copy, as well as a code for digital download/streaming.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 4/10
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