Judy

The next Oscars are two weeks earlier than normal this time. So you might want to start your countdown soon. I started mine with Judy, the biopic which sees Renee Zelweger portray the one and only Judy Garland.

Around 1968, Judy is practically broke and needs a comeback. Her agent suggests a concert tour in the UK. She reluctantly agrees to the proposal, leaving her youngest kids, Lorna and Joey Luft with their father Sidney (Rufus Sewell). Her inner demons threaten to impede her performances. But a nice guy named Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) comes along and becomes her fifth husband. That relationship goes sour when the tour gets extended, perhaps indefinitely. But she finds the strength to carry on.

And then she died in June, 1969. OK...

Director Rupert Goold and writer Tom Edge adapt Peter Quilter's stageplay End of the Rainbow. The film opens with young Judy (Darci Shaw) getting a pep talk from Louis B. Mayer (Richard Cordery) on the set of The Wizard of Oz. A few more flashbacks follow to show Judy's painful upbringing on the MGM lot. It perfectly contextualizes her later problems. Most of the film deals with Judy's later struggles with her declining health and worsening addictions. There is some levity, especially with two fans named Stan (Daniel Cerqueira) and Dan (Andy Nyman) who befriend Judy, and it's very needed.

Zelweger doesn't disappoint as Judy Garland. Her weary face, made possible by Jeremy Woodhead's makeup team, says a lot about her rough life. She still works to support her family in spite of her rough life. She gets to enjoy some happiness with her kids and later, Mickey Deans. She gets the audience's sympathy the whole way through. Her musical performances invigorate the film. The climactic performance of Over the Rainbow is the film's strongest number. You'll know why when you see it.

Technically, the flashbacks are the best part of the film. On one hand, Judy's rough treatment at MGM isn't delightful. But on the other, her moments of disobedience are. Her scenes with Mickey Rooney (Gus Barry) show excellent chemistry. Kave Quinn's production design and Ole Bratt Birkland's cinematography create a colorful world. Its most distinctive color, of course, is the shear emerald green. 

Judy is a tough movie to watch. After all, it's a film about the sad, final months of a fading Hollywood star. It's a film that might make some people reconsider show business. Its moments of levity made it easier, and as said before, it needed them. Keep that in mind if you decide to see it. Whether you want to see it again immediately is up to you.