Judy
“The script never delves into the roots of Garland’s issues, making her downfall seem rather abrupt.”
Title: Judy (2019)
Director: Rupert Goold 👨🏼🇬🇧
Writers: Screenplay by Tom Edge 👨🏼🇬🇧 based on the play by Peter Quilter 👨🏼🇬🇧
Reviewed by Joseph Hillyard 👨🏽🇺🇸
Technical: 3/5
Renée Zellweger gives a potent performance in Judy, a glossy biopic about the troubled life of beloved actress and performer Judy Garland. Set in 1968, months before her death, the film focuses on her concerts at London venue The Talk of The Town, as her personal life begins to crumble around her. But therein lies the film's greatest weakness: its limited perspective.
By restricting itself to Judy's London shows, the film paints an incomplete picture of its central figure. Flashbacks depict Judy as a fresh-faced starlet who struggles to find her footing in a less-than-welcoming environment, in stark contrast to her current state as a fading star plagued by addiction. But instead of exploring how the drug abuse manifested, director Rupert Goold struggles to connect the dots between these two points in her life.
As a result, even the film's most dramatic moments—such as Zellweger’s tearful rendition of “Over The Rainbow”—ring hollow. Only a few genuinely touching moments remain, seen through solid musical sequences and the strength of Zellweger’s performance which offset some of the film’s flaws. In the end, Judy makes for an entertaining yet ultimately forgettable experience.
Gender: 4/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
Having a female lead allows Judy to score well in this category, although her characterization feels frustratingly incomplete. We are introduced to the titular character at her lowest, having fallen far from her previously untouchable movie star status. Essentially homeless and with few means of supporting herself, she reluctantly takes an offer to go to London, where she must stagger through performance after performance while entrenched in an ongoing custody battle with her ex-husband.
During this dark period, Garland's well-documented battles with substance abuse and with the studio system are touched upon. In one of the film’s flashbacks, we see Judy interact with MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer during the filming of The Wizard of Oz (1939), as he orders his staff to give Judy diet pills—the beginnings of an addiction that would eventually claim her life. But her present narrative in London paints Judy’s drug use as more of a bad habit than what it really is: a coping mechanism used to combat years of emotional abuse.
Even when Judy speaks frankly to a doctor late in the film about her multiple suicide attempts and is shown struggling to get through performances, even passing out at one point, the script never delves into the roots of her issues, making her overall downfall seem rather abrupt.
Instead, precious runtime gets spent on a myriad of underdeveloped subplots. Chief among them, Judy’s brief romance and even shorter marriage to Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) bears little relevance to the rest of the film. And while Judy's battle for custody of her children with ex-husband Sidney Luft (Rufus Sewell) could have effectively bridged the gap between Judy's time on The Wizard of Oz and subsequent deterioration, as Luft's memoir tracks some of the worst of Judy's drug abuse, we're never given real insight into why their marriage didn't work out.
Thankfully, Judy isn't the sole woman in this movie. She enjoys a friendly relationship with her manager Rosalyn Wilder, played by an underutilized Jessie Buckley, and shares short but meaningful scenes with her daughter Liza Minnelli (Gemma-Leah Devereux).
Race: 2/5
Burt Rhodes, played by multiracial British actor Royce Pierreson, plays a small but positive role as the bandleader of the Talk of the Town. But other than him and a few dancers who appear during musical sequences, people of color are largely absent from Judy.
Bonus for LGBTQ: +0.50
In easily the film's most touching scene, Judy meets two adoring gay fans on her way out of a performance and joins them for a late-night snack at their apartment. The three of them bond over shared troubles, and while the scene is entirely fictional, it effectively represents Judy's extensive LGBTQ fan base.
Bonus for Age: +0.50
Considering how opportunities for women in major roles drop precipitously over the age of 40, it’s positive to see Zellweger play the lead. She was 49 at the time of filming in 2018, two years older than Judy Garland at the time of her death.
Mediaversity Grade: C+ 3.33/5
Zellweger has found the perfect comeback vehicle in Judy. While the film itself lacks the polish of more successful biopics like Frida (2002) or Belle (2013), her performance elevates average material to an award-worthy performance.
Like Judy? Try these other titles featuring fictionalized stories of iconic women.
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019)
Hustlers (2019)
Gentleman Jack