Lord Charles (Bruce Greenwood) is Julia's best friend who has a personal
interest in her life. She has a son Roger (Thomas Sturridge) who is
ready to strike it out of his own.
In spite of all the fame and undoubted talents, Julia is afraid that
she is losing her looks and charm and finds it difficult to maintain
the facade. Then, through her husband, she meets a young American, Tom
(Shaun Evans), who is half her age and an ardent admirer of her. Flattered
by the attention of an attractive, young man who makes love to her with
great passion, Julia falls madly in love with him. She feels good and
young again and she starts spending more and more time with Tom in his
apartment as well as at decadent clubs of London. Aging Julia's boredom
is lifted by spending time with Tom and they embark on a full out affair
and are madly in love. But even during this courtship, she feels awkward
at times as she is old enough to be his mother and starts to feel the
onset of middle age in both public and private life. She is not sure
how long she can effectively continue this ridiculous relationship with
Tom and the thought bothers her.
As was expected, Tom's ardor cools off when he meets a young aspiring
actress named Avice Crichton (Lucy Punch), sending Julia into a panic.
Avice gets a role in Michael's latest comedy and both Tom and Michael
became enamored with this beautiful actress. Now Julia feeling dejected,
comes up with a marvelous plan to take revenge on everyone involved
- the men in her life; her lover, her husband and the aspiring actress
who beds both of them.
Oscar winner Istvan Szabo directs this delightful drama. He successfully
spins a highly theatrical drama filled with emotions as well as wits
and makes a beautiful movie with a romantic triangle. The costumes and
sets are elegant and cinematography lustrous. Movie belongs to Bening.
As an aging West End diva, it is the liveliest of her comebacks. She
makes the most of her role and gives a captivating performance. It is
a great feeling to watch her portray her character, now immersed in
an emotional love affair and then the swift plunge back to reality.
She has played her role with great energy and talent, a role that is
comparable to real life situations in today's movie world. Her performance
is worth an Oscar Award. Theatre lovers will greatly enjoy this film.
We rate this movie Good.
