Writer/Director: Nora Ephron
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci
‘A Magnificent Cooking Drama’
Few actresses in Hollywood have the ability to keep audiences entertained like Meryl Streep. Ever since her rise to recognition in the 1970’s, Streep has become one of the greatest actresses in the film industry. Streep’s finest strength as an actress is her versatility. Whether its women which experience divorce disasters, Holocaust survivors or fierce political leaders, Streep has portrayed a wide range of characters. Through her uncanny ability to portray characters that are compelling, the actress has built a legacy that’s lasting. Despite her age of retirement, Streep has proven that she hasn’t lost abilities to craft compelling entertainment. An inspiring legend, Streep has produced many memorable movies throughout her illustrious career which are definitely worth watching. Each film has given the actress a chance to showcase her stunning talents.
I’m a huge fan of Meryl Streep and adore all of the movies that she has made throughout her career. However, “Julie and Julia” may be my favourite. Released in 2009, Nora Ephron’s commemorated film depicted the life of a female chef with a strong love for cooking. Packed with breathtaking visuals, sharp storytelling and powerful performances, it’s a beautiful drama celebrating women with a love for cooking. At the centre of it all is an excellent performance from Meryl Streep, who embodies a real-life female chef with love for cooking. Although “Julie and Julia” is a truly entertaining movie, ultimately it isn’t a flawless film. It builds to a sentimental conclusion without resolution. That being said, it offers exhilarating entertainment that fans of Meryl Streep simply wouldn’t be able to resist.
“Julie and Julia” tells the story of a female chef seeking success in the culinary industry. Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child, a woman that has a strong love for cooking. Julia seeks success in the culinary industry during the 1950’s. Julia’s life is contrasted with Julie Powell (Amy Adams), another female chef that works in the culinary industry. As the two chefs pursue dreams of success in the culinary industry, they turn out to have similarities in common. Following the positive example set by Julia Child, Julie seeks to become a renowned chef. Facing intense competition in the modern era, Julie questions whether she can become a chef with charisma.
Nora Ephron is a newcomer to chefs. A famous filmmaker, Ephron attained appreciation for her romantic comedies during the 1990’s. With “Julie and Julia”, however, she made her first cooking drama. It was the filmmaker’s first attempt to capture a real-life female chef, but she succeeded tremendously. Through spellbinding cinematography, Ephron captures a female chef on a journey to achieve success in the culinary industry. Ephron deftly uses montages to capture a female chef with a huge love for cooking. For instance, montages elevate the blogging scene. During this unforgettable scene, Julie attempts to cook dishes using her recipe book. One admires montages capturing a woman with a lifelong love for cooking. Through montages, Ephron captures a woman seeking to make culinary dreams come true. Montages are tricky techniques. However, they work immensely in this movie. Through stunning visuals, Ephron captures love for cooking.
Another admirable aspect of “Julie and Julia” is the production-design. From a technical point-of-view, the film is extremely well-made. Ephron deftly uses the set-design of kitchens to capture a female chef’s passion for cooking. Ephron’s decision to shoot the movie in real life restaurants pays off immensely. For instance, the real-life restaurant locations elevate the cooking school scene. During this unforgettable scene, Julia Child expresses her strong dedication to succeeding in a cooking school. One admires production-design capturing women with love for cooking dishes that shine. Moreover, the musical score is magnificent. Alexandre Desplat’s score is integral to the film’s success. It gives the movie a whimsical atmosphere capturing love for cooking. Through breathtaking production, Ephron celebrates women with cooking passion.
Storytelling is one of the primary reasons why “Julie and Julia” is a drama that’s compelling. The film is beautifully written, and successfully uses juxtaposition to contrast the lives of two female chefs in different time periods. Ephron’s screenwriting strength is capturing the lives of two female cooks using juxtaposition. The film cleverly switches back and forth between two timelines: Julia Powell’s love for cooking in the present-day era and Julia Child’s pursuit of success in the culinary industry during the 1950’s. Through this ingenious juxtaposition, Ephron creates two strong female characters that audiences cane relate to. As someone whose mother had a lifelong love for cooking, I related deeply to Julie Powell’s journey to become a chef in the movie. Juxtaposition is a tricky technique to use in movies. As Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” demonstrated, juxtaposition enhances celebrated crime dramas. Nevertheless, it works tremendously in this movie. Through an extraordinary screenplay, Ephron celebrates female chefs today.
One admires astonishing performances.
Meryl Streep delivers one of her greatest career performances as Julia Child. Streep achieved appreciation for playing women facing broken marriages. With “Julie and Julia”, however, she embodied her first chef role. It isn’t easy to embody the personality of a famous female chef seeking prosperity during the 1950’s, but she succeeds tremendously. It’s a role that allows the iconic actress opportunities to showcase her charisma. With mesmerizing expressions, she embodies the ambition, enthusiasm and determination of a female chef. It’s a phenomenal performance from one of the most commemorated actresses working today.
Amy Adams is amazing as an aspiring female chef seeking to pursue a passion for cooking. While Streep gets the showier role, Adams is equally excellent and worthy of appreciation. As Julie Powell, Adams effectively uses strong body language to capture a woman which has a larger-than-life love for cooking. Whether she is passionately cooking a dish in the kitchen or marvelling in awe at Julia Child on television, Adams uses her body language to capture a female chef. It’s an extraordinary performance from one of the greatest actresses working today.
Finally, “Julie and Julia” will please everyone for celebrating love for cooking in the modern era. Unlike most movies about cooking, it’s a film with universal themes that everyone will relate to. The movie tackles universal themes such as ambition, career and family which would resonate with everyone. It delivers a universal message about the importance of pursuing dreams with which everyone would engage. As someone sharing a bond with my mother that loved cooking, the film resonated strongly with me. Therefore, “Julie and Julia” is one of those rare movies about the art of cooking which everyone would adore.
Despite its universal message, however, “Julie and Julia” can’t quite capture hardships that female chefs go through. If there’s a small shortcoming to the movie, it lacks a compelling ending. It’s a sentimental conclusion without any satisfying resolution. Whereas this sentimental finale elevated Lasse Halstrom’s “The Hundred Foot Journey”, it clashes with this movie. It fails to bring the film to a satisfying resolution. For a film that begins on such a promising note, it’s a shame that the ending doesn’t quite fulfill viewers’ appetite. Cooking dramas thrive based on their satisfying endings, and in this regard “Julie and Julia” falters.
Nevertheless, fans of Meryl Streep will definitely appreciate “Julia and Julia” and so will movie-goers seeking meaningful entertainment. A captivating cooking drama, it celebrates the legacy of a legendary actress with charisma that has become an icon in Cinema.
A captivating tribute towards a famous female chef with a lifelong love for cooking, it’s a compelling reminder of a legendary actress that hasn’t lost her abilities to entertain audiences leaving behind a lasting legacy through creating colourful characters overcoming insurmountable obstacles whose movies are definitely without a doubt worth celebrating
4.5/5 stars
The Film Buff 