Judy ★★★½
CAREER-defining. is the best description of Renee Zellweger’s extraordinary performance in Judy.
We know Zellweger can sing and dance – we saw that when she played Roxie in 2002’s Chicago – but until now she has been best known as Bridget Jones in the much-loved series of three romantic comedies.
But her beautifully complex portrayal of former Hollywood superstar Judy Garland is her crowing achievement to date.
There is one specific sequence in the film that encapsulates everything great about her performance.
Judy has been literally pushed onto the stage after being helped out of a drug and alcohol induced and sleep deprived state.
Suddenly, on being confronted by the crowd she is still able to flick an inner switch and belt out a confident and energetic number that brings her fans to their feet.
During these moments Zellweger is able to simultaneously present two characters – the mask of an outwardly professional, charismatic and sassy star hiding the pain and lonliness of a woman who has spent decades in the public eye, being psychologically abused and controlled behind the scenes.
It’s a terrific scene, one of many in a film that only falters slightly in its final act with a few uncharecteristically maudlin moments.
Otherwise it’s thoroughly entertaining, wonderfully acted and resonates with important modern concerns over mental abuse, body image and the abuse of power and influence.
Garland was born in 1922 and was acting just two years later. By her teens she was one of the most popular young stars in the Hollywood studio system, a career trajectory that would soar with the release of The Wizard of Oz in 1939.
Judy starts with a prologue prior to that film’s release in which legendary stido head Louis B. Mayer has been forced to come down to the set to counsel his increasingly unhappy young star.
Standing on the yellow brick road, Mayer, an imposing figure in physicality and personality, towers over the 15-year-old, quietly bullying her into continuing with the role and stop complaining about having to work too hard and over too many hours.
Judy is also growing more concerned at the control being wielded by the studio over every aspect of her personal life in order to ensure her image and money-making ability are protected.
She is too scared to even eat more than one french fry for fear of being chastised and is alreday surviving many days on a regular diet of vitamins and sleeping pills.
Four failed marriages and three children later we meet Judy in 1968 when her career in America is on the downward slope. .
She needs money to fight her last husband for sole custody of their two youngest children but her best chance at achieveing this outcome is to leave the children with him for several months while she performs a lucrative series of live concerts in London where she is still popular.
At first feted and revered, the people involved in the show soon realise that its ongoing success will depend on keeping their star on the right side of her many addictions and self-doubts.
But Judy has been in the industry her entire life and has suffered too much abuse to allow anyone to truly connect with her emotionally.
Among the characters who try are a new companion/lover, played by Finn Whitrock, her ex-husband (Rufus Sewell), her personal assistant (Jessie Buckley) and backing band leader (Royce Pierreson).
In another of the film’s best scenes Judy does seem to connect with two regular concert-goers and life-time fans whose story suggests they are kindred spirits.
Writers Tom Edge and Peter Quilter, adapting the latter’s stage play, have a deep understanding of their main character’s past and current state of mind that is slowly peeled back by Zelwegger and the supporting cast.
The film is directed by Ruper Goold and has moments that will make you feel every emotion possible for this extraordinary performer and the tragic circumstances. of her fascinating life and career.
Above all, this is Zellweger’s film in every way and is sure to result in well-deserved accolades and award nominations.