Being Julia - 2004

Actress Anette Bening is simply FANTASTIC in this film. Being Julia is a 2004 drama film with comic undertones directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1937 novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham. The original music score is composed by Mychael Danna. Set in London in 1938, the film focuses on highly successful and extremely popular theatre actress Julia Lambert, whose gradual disillusionment with her career as she approaches middle age has prompted her to ask her husband, stage director Michael Gosselyn, and his financial backer, Dolly de Vries, to close her current production to allow her time to travel abroad. They convince her to remain with the play throughout the summer, and Michael introduces her to Tom Fennel, an enterprising American who confesses his deep appreciation of her work. Seeking the passion missing from her marriage, and anxious to fill the void left when her close friend Lord Charles suggested they part ways to avoid scandalous gossip, Julia embarks on a passionate affair with the young man and begins to support him so he may enjoy the glamorous lifestyle to which she has introduced him. Their relationship revives her, sparking a distinct change in her personality. Always hovering in the background and offering counsel is the spirit of her mentor, Jimmie Langton, the theatrical manager who gave Julia her start and made her a star, while flesh-and-blood Evie serves as her personal maid, dresser, and confidante. Michael suggests they invite Tom to spend time at their country estate, where he can become better acquainted with their son Roger. At a party there Tom meets aspiring actress Avice Crichton, and when Julia sees him flirting with the pretty young woman she becomes jealous and anxious and angrily confronts him. He slowly reveals himself to be a callous, social-climbing, gold-digging gigolo, and Julia is shattered when their affair comes to an end.