Making one movie at a time is tough enough. But to essentially make two movies at a time and then combine them into one unified picture must be a daunting task, even with a common subject matter. Such is the case with the subject of today’s film, Julie & Julia, which was a lot better than I expected it to be. Having the great Meryl Streep playing a central role in the picture sure did help!
Film
Julie & Julia is essentially two different films with one common theme, Julia Child. Half of the film stars Meryl Streep as Julia Child as she and her husband, a diplomat at the US Embassy in Paris, arrive in Paris in the late 1940’s. Bored with her life, she takes up cooking and soon becomes very proficient at it. She is enlisted to help two friends in preparing a French cookbook for American cooks and over time, takes the book over herself.
This section of the film tells the heretofore unknown story of Julia Child before all the fame, cookbooks and TV show. The performance of Meryl Streep is simply brilliant, with her simply becoming Julia Child on screen, from the tone and inflection of her voice to her body positioning and body language. Her performance is by far, the high point of the film and is a joy to watch. One can’t wait for her story arc to return to the screen, she is so much better than the rest of the film.
The other half of the film is set in the present and stars Amy Adams as Julie Powell, who becomes inspired by Julie Child to complete 524 of Julia Child’s recipes in 365 days and chronicle the whole event on her blog. Over time, Julie’s blog becomes somewhat of a hit and brings her publicity with an article in the New York times. However, it does create stress between her and her husband. The film moves back and forth between Julia Child’s life in the 1940’s and 50’s in Europe and later back in the US in Cambridge, Massachusetts, linking various common experiences they shared together.
The film is based upon two books, Julie Powell’s “Julie & Julia” and “My Life in Paris” written by Julia Child and her grandson, Alex Prud’Homme. While Meryl Streep’s half of the film is better than that centered around Amy Adams portrayal of the real life Julie Powell, writer Nora Ephron’s screenplay pulls both stories together remarkably well, resulting in a film that is, at best engaging and at worst, simply charming. I enjoyed the film and hope that you will too. It is worth a look just for Meryl Streep’s remarkable performance. Recommended.
Video
Julie & Julia is a great looking film which is encoded beautifully on this Blu-ray release. The film features a very natural color palette, with well saturated colors that are very accurate and true to life. The flesh tones in particular are spot on. Detail and clarity are excellent as well, with fine details such as skin textures and blemishes and fine background details such as the texture of clothing, wall paper, pots and pans and the like beautifully rendered. Film grain was also beautifully preserved.
This release has the look and feel of film and will really impress film purists. For those looking to experience the look of real film in your home rather than the ultra clarity of HD video, Julie & Julia is the release for you. The only issue I had with the film involved the black levels which were not as inky as those in the very best looking films I have experienced on Blu-ray although they are certainly deep enough in their own right. This is a great looking encode which should thrill fans of the film and of film in general.
Audio
The audio on this release was surprisingly good for this type of film. The overall fidelity of the entire sound field is excellent, sounding full and rich with excellent transparency and imaging. The musical score in particular was well reproduced, with the instruments seeming to hang in the air in front before you. The dialogue track was well recorded and well placed in the sound field and at all time intelligible.
Most surprising was the use of the surrounds which were used far more aggressively than I had anticipated. While not creating a totally immersive sound mix, they created more than enough ambiance that the film didn’t sound as front heavy as I anticipated. Is this a dynamic and aggressive sound mix? No and far from it. However, it is a more immersive mix than anticipated and sounds so good that I had give it a full 4.5 stars.
Special Features
Julie & Julia is packed with a several interesting extras. The extras include a commentary with writer/director Nora Ephron along with a featurette “Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia”, a look behind the making of the film with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.
The two extras that I enjoyed the most are the featurette “Family and Friends Remember Julia Child” featuring interviews with Julia Child’s famiiy and friends along with “Julia’s Kitchen” which details how Julia’s actual kitchen from her home in Cambridge, Mass, ended up being dismantled piece by piece for display at The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The next time I am in D.C., I plan to pay a visit to this exhibition.
The extras also include several cooking lessons, including poaching eggs with Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, Making Hollandaise Sauce with Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, scrambling eggs with mark Peel, Braised Beef shortribs with Suzanne Goin and Steven and Drew Nieporent preparing butter poached maine lobster. The release also features movieIQ which allows viewers to collect and email their favorite Julia Child recipes while watching the film.
Final Thoughts
Julia & Julia as a warm, charming and funny film that features a brilliant performance by Meryl Streep as Julia Child and very impressive audio and video presentations. By all means, give this little gem a look. I think you will be glad you did. Recommended.
