JUDY: Renée Zellweger Stuns As Judy Garland

There are a few rare times when you watch a performance and it’s so good, that you genuinely forget who’s playing the role. That is Renée Zellweger in Judy.

Judy, directed by Rupert Goold, is set during the last year in the turbulent life of screen legend, Judy Garland. We follow her as she reluctantly begins a London residency in order to make enough money to create a stable life for her children. Interspersed with flashbacks to the beginning of her career, we learn what made Judy and what ultimately led to her downfall. Beyond Zellweger’s powerhouse performance, there is not much originality in this film. But it is clear that everyone involved took immense care in telling this story, and it serves as a lovely celebration of Judy Garland.

Zellweger Is Judy

Everyone’s been talking about Zellweger’s performance, and oh boy does it live up to the hype. She completely loses herself in the role without presenting a caricature of Garland. She nails Garland’s complicated persona, perfectly capturing her simultaneous self-destruction and determination. She does not paint Garland as a pitiful victim of Hollywood cruelty, but instead shows how resilient she became while having to deal with her past. This year’s award season is gearing up to be extremely competitive, but Zellweger is guaranteed an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and possibly a second win.

Perhaps an even harder task than capturing Garland’s essence is capturing her sound. She was known for her unique and gorgeous voice, and hearing that Zellweger would do her own singing was a bit concerning. From her first performance, “By Myself”, she erases any doubt from the audience’s mind. Once again, she doesn’t try to impersonate Garland, but she brings a similar depth. Tissues are definitely required for her final performance of “Over The Rainbow”.

Though Zellweger is above and beyond, it is also worth noting that the characters who are supporting Judy are played strongly by the supporting actors. Jessie Buckley portrays Garland’s London assistant, Rosalyn Wilder, who has to deal with Garland’s sometimes erratic behavior with a calm strength. Despite a questionable New York accent, Finn Wittrock plays Garland’s last husband Mickey Deans charmingly well. Both of these actors are clearly gearing up for long careers of even better roles. At first I was apprehensive about the actress who played young Garland, Darci Shaw, as she didn’t really resemble her. But her heart-wrenching performance made that apprehension go away very quickly.

The Biopic Problem

The biopic seems to be the new hot genre, but unfortunately there’s only so much you can do to separate one biopic from another. Judy is pretty standard for a film of this ilk, sometimes suffering from predictable dialogue and rushed storylines. The relationship between Garland and Deans is often described with words like “stormy” and “a whirlwind.” But in the movie we see them meet and then 30 minutes later he’s randomly showing up at her hotel as if they’ve known each other for years. The rise and fall of their relationship is lightning fast and feels unfinished. Additionally, while I enjoyed Buckley’s performance, the relationship between her character and Garland seemed to go from professional and full of tension to friendly in a very short amount of time.

The through-line of the movie is that Garland wants to be able to provide a stable environment for her kids, which is illustrated through tension with her ex-husband Sidney Luft (Rufus Sewell). A very short interaction with Liza Minelli (Gemma-Leigh Deveraux) gave us insight into their relationship, as well. This was a very personal and unexpected way to frame her story, but even more focus on it would have made the film much stronger.

Despite the simplicity of Judy, it is extremely emotional. There are definitely cheesy moments, but they don’t feel manipulative or poorly written. Rather, it is clear how much love the filmmakers have for Garland. Maybe it was just realizing the reality of what I was seeing, but tears welled up in my eyes throughout the film. Cutting back to Garland as a teen actress and seeing what she had to go through created an effective emotional weight that hung over the whole film.

Redemption for Judy

Unfortunately, Judy Garland went through a lot at a young age. The abuse and shame put upon her stayed with her for the rest of her short life. Mood swings and absence due to drugs, overdoses, and suicide attempts gave Garland a bad reputation in Hollywood, to the point where she could not find a manager or book any roles. She was painted as the villain of her story, and this movie disproves that completely.

They show the whole story. They don’t necessarily excuse some of her behavior, but they also express that with her background, it was impossible for her to end up the perfect girl-next-door that she was made out to be. They express that Garland was a complicated but sympathetic person without spoon-feeding depression to the viewer. The movie tells the truth, and the truth is that Judy Garland was one-of-a-kind and completely misunderstood.

Judy: Conclusion

Overall, Judy is a simple but moving film, celebrating an icon. Renée Zellweger gives a career best performance, which is really the reason to see this movie. There is only one Judy Garland, and this movie reveals why.

What did you think of Renée Zellweger’s performance? Let us know in the comments below!

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