FILM: JUDY

2019 / drama, biography, romance / 2h 8min / directed by Rupert Goold / country: UK | USA / language: English

“Renée Zellweger performs miracles playing Judy Garland: singing her heart out, baring her bruised soul and acting with a ferocity that ultimately rises to a state of grace.” –Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

“Goold’s long career as a theater director serves him well in staging Judy’s concert performances, which include “By Myself,” “The Trolley Song” (which scores a montage of work, pills, and insomnia), “Come Rain Or Come Shine,” and, of course, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” A lifelong show pony, Judy can instantly snap out of a prescription drug-fueled haze into full-on star mode—except when she can’t and her performances crash and burn, which is gripping in a different kind of way. Zellweger provides her own vocals, and gives the performances an uninhibited live-wire quality that’s more powerful than a direct impression ever could be. She sounds fantastic, which makes her a fine fit for a past-her-prime version of one of the greatest singers in American history.” –Caroline Siede, AV Club

Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love, and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer.”
Based on the stage play “End of the Rainbow” by Peter Quilter.