Julie and Julia
The movie is cooked right through with your own salivary juices as there is portrayal of appetizing food in its distinct style. A delightful tasty treat for adults is what we can expect from Julie and Julia. The film is written and directed by Nora Ephron and it cuts back and forth into these two characters of women, their lives, their obsessions and the impact on their marriage. It was Julie and Julia’s dedication to cuisine that finally shaped their living.
Movie: Julie & Julia (2008)
Casting: Meryl Streep as Julia Child, Amy Adams as Julie Powell, Stanley Tucci as Paul Child, Chris Messina as Eric Powell, Linda Emond as Simone Beck, Helen Carey as Louisette Bertholle
Directed By: Nora Ephron
Written By: Nora Ephron, Julie Powell, Julia Child, Alex Prud’homme
Produced By: Nora Ephron, Laurence Mark, Amy Robinson, Eric Steel
Rating: 3/5
The story is based on an emotional platform as there are two women who are in a search for individual empowerment and to leave a mark of their creativity in the universe, thus making a place of their own in their own distinctive style.
Here is Julie Powell, a telephone call-taker who is dealing with queries and enquiries on insurance claims post 9/11 attack. Though she is a novelist nonetheless her living was encompassed within the cubicle of her office. Someone once questioned her as what she does all day and we believe that was the trigger point of her pursuing an obsession. She is married to Eric Powell and both moves in to an apartment just above the Pizza Corner in Queens.
She felt restless with her work and soon she found her passion in the pages of Julia Child’s Classic cookbook, mastering the art of French cooking. What did Julie Powell decides to do is what the film deals with sensitively. With dedication, Julie Powell single mindedly plans out to make the every dish of the book in one year. Not only has she vowed to document her every experience in the kitchen in an online journal but also made sincere attempt to continue with her commitment of trying out every dishes in one year.
Here is Julia Child who transitions from the bored wife of a diplomat to a student in the French Cooking class and finally as a teacher, cookbook author and celebrity of her own TV show. Julia Child was so obsessed with her plan that she always needed a level-headed and calm person as a husband to keep the marriage ticking. However, she obviously was a gifted student and a natural chef. Her passion for cooking was a result of her impatience in playing Bridge. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci did great justice with their respective roles as husband and wives. The diplomat Paul Child never questioned Julia’s obsession or her single minded devotion.
In this whole movie, there is fair amount of recipes being cooked but there were no great eaters. What I felt that the husbands of Julie and Julia were quite boring and it would have made a great film had they been a bit more high-spirited ones. This movie is initially cooked with a flavor of comedy but then there was element of dark drama as well with a final nail into the gender question of who exactly belongs to the kitchen.
Julie and Julia did drive the movie with strong characters and it’s not just a movie for foodies only.
Also Read:
Meryl Streep and co-star Stanley Tucci quarrel ‘like married
Posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am
August 14th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Good movie. Went with a friend on opening night. Meryl Streep is amazing as Juia. Loved her husband in movie. I’ve never read Julie’s original blog or the book the movie is based on. I suppose, if had, I would have known that she was annoyingly self-obsorbed, which is why the good rating, not great.