Julie and Julia (Amy Adams, Meryl Streep)

(Amazon UK link)

We watched the film ‘Julie and Julia’ nearly nine years ago, and liked it very much. So we decided to watch it again last night. I had forgotten the plot, but did recall that it was based on a true story, and also that it was about cooking.

What we had not remembered, until it got going, is that it’s actually based on two true stories. One is that of Julia Child, who was an American living in France in the 1940s. In the film, played brilliantly by the wonderful Meryl Streep, she is quite an outspoken woman who adores French cooking.

Julia's husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) is a diplomat who is regularly posted in different places, but Julia doesn’t like to be inactive. So she decides to take cookery classes, and ends up amongst a group of men training in Cordon Bleu. And when - eventually - she finishes, she determines to write a book that will help American women learn to cook in the French way.

It’s a long and complex journey to publication, but the end of the film sees her holding in her hands a copy of ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’. It’s not a spoiler to say this because the other storyline, running concurrently through the film, is that of a young woman called Julie (Amy Adams), in 2002, who is persuaded by her husband Eric (Chris Messina) to start a blog. For her theme, she determines to work her way through every one of the recipes in Julia’s book in the course of a year.

In a sense there isn’t much plot. We know that Julia’s book is eventually going to be published, and we assume that Julie is going to succeed in her challenge. But there’s a great deal of characterisation, and many little subplots, laced with some humour and also some poignancy. Julia’s relationship with Paul is contrasted subtly with Julie’s relationship with Eric. Both are strong, loving marriages, but Julie’s inevitably has a different kind of balance; for one thing she’s working full-time as well as learning to cook.

There’s also a huge contrast in the large house where Julia and Paul live, versus the small flat with a tiny kitchen where Julie and Eric find themselves. And Julia is a much stronger personality, while Julie is sensitive and easily upset. They have friends; Julie does a lot of entertaining with the dishes she produces, and Julia collaborates with various people over her book.

But the four main characters carry most of the story.  And they’re all excellent, but of course Meryl Streep still stands out; she IS Julia. Stanley Tucci is great as her husband, and the two have quite a believable chemistry. But he’s still Stanley Tucci, and I was reminded, several times, of other roles I’ve seen him in. I didn’t recognise the younger couple at all, so they were easy enough to believe in. But Meryl Streep is unique. We’ve seen her in many, many roles but each one is entirely different. Other than a few facial expressions and a characteristic eye roll, we kept forgetting that it was an actress, let alone one we’ve seen in many other parts.

The ending is a little strange and abrupt, but generally encouraging. And there’s a ‘making of’ documentary with our DVD which was watched, and found very interesting. 

Rated 12A, which seems a little high; there's some bad language but it's not excessive, and nothing explicit. The only bit I really didn't like in the film was a scene involving a live lobster (shudder). Overall, I would recommend this to anyone with any interest in cooking, or who would like to see something rather different from most films. 

 However it's not likely to be of interest to children anyway.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Doubt (Meryl Streep)

(Amazon UK link)

I had not previously heard of the film ‘Doubt’, which I spotted in a box of second-hand DVDs next to a church book sale. Since it featured Meryl Streep, and indeed three other well-known actors, I thought it was probably well worth the euro it cost me. A few days later we decided to see it.

I knew from the blurb on the back of the box that there was a disturbing theme to the story, and I began to regret having picked the DVD up at first. But it didn’t take long to get into the story. Meryl Streep is a nun, Sister Aloysius, who is headmistress of a Catholic school in New York in the early 1960s. As in every part I have seen her, Streep is superb, becoming the character in a way that most actors cannot do. Sister Aloysius is rigid in her outlook, quick to pass judgement, stern in her punishments of every infraction amongst the children.

One of the staff, Sister James (Amy Adams), is young and enthusiastic, and wants to inspire the children in her class rather than rule them by coercion. However she is quite concerned about Desmond (Joseph Foster), the only black child in the school, who is also an altar boy at the connected church. Desmond is quite a loner, and it seems that the priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is taking rather too much interest in him…

Sister James reports her concerns to Sister Aloysius. Then much of the film involves verbal battles between her and Father Flynn, who comes across as a caring, gentle person on the whole. We hear parts of some of his sermons, which are quite thought-provoking. Indeed, the contrast between this gentle priest and the rigid nun is quite marked. Their dialogues are extremely well done, the timing perfect, and the on-screen chemistry, albeit of a rather different variety from many movies, works superbly.

There is also an extremely moving scene involving Desmond’s mother, beautifully portrayed by Viola Davis. She and Sister Aloysius have a lengthy dialogue about Desmond; it’s a pivotal scene, and I found myself drawn into it, suddenly realising that the situation being discussed was far less cut-and-dried than it might appear.

As well as these interactions the film covers quite a bit of the life of the school, too. There’s some music sung by choirboys and girls too - the school is a mixed one. A particularly poignant moment includes the singing of ‘Deus Caritas…’ - of which the translated words are, ‘Where there is love and care, there God is’. All in all, we thought it beautifully made, and were totally caught up in the story.

Never at any point is it determined whether or not Sister Aloysius’s convictions about Father Flynn are true or not. In one of the extras, we learned that this story was based on play which involved just the four main characters. As Meryl Streep points out in an interview, live theatre often leaves questions and storylines open for the viewers’ own interpretations. This is less common in films, and this one was quite controversial in following the storyline of the play, and leaving the main plot unresolved.

Made in 2008, allegations such as those in this film were all too common, even though the story was set forty or more years earlier. I found it a very powerful film, leaving open many questions, not just whether or not the priest was innocent of the allegations made.

It’s rated 15 in the UK, which I think is about right given the nature of the story, although there is nothing overt that could cause the censors to give it a strict rating. There is no nudity or anything explicit, almost no bad language, and only mild violence.

Perhaps this is why the US rating, which is often higher than that in the UK, is a milder PG-13. I would not want a young child to see this, but reasonably mature teenagers might find it thought-provoking. I would recommend it highly to anyone wanting a well-made film with a somewhat unusual storyline.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Frances McDormand)

(Amazon UK link)

I think this film was recommended to me by Amazon a while ago. It went on my wishlist, and I was given it for Christmas nearly two years ago. It took all this time to decide to watch it; and what a treat it turned out to be. 

Set in the 1930s, the film stars Frances McDormand as Miss Pettigrew. She is a rather dowdy middle-aged woman who has just lost her job. It appears that she’s somewhat unconventional in her style of work, and the employment agency don’t have anything for her. And then her day gets worse….

Eventually she finds herself at the plush apartment where Delysia, a night-club singer (Amy Adams), is panicking. The place is in chaos, and there’s a young lover in her bed. The apartment belongs to another man, whom she is rather afraid of… she’s glitzy, talented, and rather too addicted to men.

The contrast between the two women is dramatic. Delysia sees Miss Pettigrew as her saviour, however. The film follows the day that they spend together, untangling Delysia’s love-life and determining her future.

The settings are realistic, the storyline unusual, and the acting mostly excellent. Inevitably there are caricatures, but it’s that kind of film: people behaved in character, if perhaps a bit exaggeratedly so. The pace was just right for our tastes, though it’s not going to appeal to those who want fast action. To lift a little from the humour, and show the serious setting of the frivolous lifestyles of nightclub singers, there are hints - and more than hints - of the coming world war.

There’s no real plot or storyline, it’s more a story of transformation: as Miss Pettigrew, as Delysia’s social secretary, gets her out of trouble repeatedly, she discovers new things about herself and makes new friends. The ending is unrealistic given that the events and meetings that take pace over a single day, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all highly satisfactory, and very nicely done.

We both enjoyed this film very much.

Rated PG, although I’d have thought the innuendoes and implications would have made it 12. Indeed, in the more cautious United States, the rating is PG-13. Still, there’s not much violence, and nothing explicit, nor is the language too ‘strong’. I don’t suppose it would appeal to children anyway.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's DVD Reviews

Julie and Julia (Meryl Streep, Amy Adams)

(Amazon UK link)

Julie and Julia is a film based on a book, which itself is a true story written by Julie Powell. Julie is a bored and rather flighty young American woman who needs some kind of focus to her life. She decides to cook her way through a French recipe book written by Julia Child a few decades earlier. She determines to cook every single recipe, and to complete them within the next year. Her husband persuades her to blog about the experience... and the blog takes off in unexpected ways.

I had never heard of Julia Child, but apparently her book - for Americans to learn how to cook in the French style, written some decades earlier - is quite well-known in the USA. The movie cleverly switches between Julie's story in the 1990s to that of Julia herself, as an American living in Paris trying to find ways to occupy herself.

Meryl Streep is brilliant in the role of Julia; she seems able to turn her abilities to just about any character, and I found her entirely believable - larger than life (both literally and metaphorically), a mixture of confidence and insecurity. Amy Adams as Julie was lovable, too, and quite believable if a bit annoying and over-emotional at times. Their husbands - played by Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina respectively - were likeable too, their interactions with their wives realistic and engaging.

As much as anything the film is about food, and the art of cooking, with some wonderful looking dishes being prepared. The amount of butter and cream used seems a little unreal in today's low-fat climate, and I did have to close my eyes at the scenes using live lobsters. But I was rooting for Julie to get through her challenge - and also for Julia, even while knowing that her book must have been published at some point!

The ending was perhaps a little sudden with no real explanation about what was going on; I wondered if it would be clearer in the book, but most of the reviews I have seen rate the film as rather better than the book. Having enjoyed the movie so much, I don't want to spoil it by having negative impressions of Julie, nor am I interested in a book full of bad language.

'Julie and Julia' is rated 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the USA, probably due to a few instances of bad language - however they were rare and mostly in context. There are several implied bedroom scenes but no nudity or anything unsuitable for children is actually shown.

Definitely recommended. There's an interesting 'extra' with the director and cast talking about the film and their roles in making it, which was enjoyable to watch afterwards.

review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews 4th September 2011

Enchanted (Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden)

(Amazon UK link)

I had never heard of the film 'Enchanted'. But then I really don't keep abreast of available movies, and am not particularly keen on Disney anyway. Still, the blurb on the back made it sound like an interesting, light movie to watch with relatives who had it on their shelves. It was clearly very highly rated by many.

It's supposed to be a humorous spoof on Disney films in general. There is a princess who is banished from a fairytale land by an evil queen. She is sent to the 'real' world, where she meets and falls for a handsome lawyer. Strange things ensue as the cultures collide...

Unfortunately, we couldn't really understand why this film is considered so good. The storyline was remarkably complicated - or perhaps I was too simple to understand it - and the songs, we thought, were very poor. We all struggled to find anything remotely amusing in it, until there was one funny line. But, alas, I have now forgotten it. Most of the film consisted of bad attempts at humour that fell pretty flat.

Having said that, there was nothing BAD about it, other than some unexpected swear words here and there. But we couldn't find anything good either. I kept drifting off to sleep as I was so bored.

I really wouldn't recommended this, and don't plan to acquire it for our collection. But then again, this film has plenty of fans. So feel free to disagree with me.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews