Judy (2019) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
One of the most delightfully beautiful film of the year comes with the bio-pic of the tragic life of the legendary Judy Garland. In making “Judy”, director Rupert Goold manages to hold the pace and interest of the audience by letting Renée Zellweger produces one of her most critically acclaimed performance for a long time. What makes this film works is down to its underlying message and the ongoing struggle of a fading star trying to survive in this brutal world of reality and criticism.
Renée Zellweger is simply breathtaking in her Oscar winning portrayal of the tragic classic superstar. In the reins of the storyline of “A Star is Born” and the end of a journey, Zellweger manages to eludes all the inner deeper emotions that Garland was suffering from ever since childhood and how she was a product of Hollywood that defined her and ultimately destroyed her. It is was beautiful yet utterly raw performance that strikes a emotional cord with the audience.
All in all, “Judy” was an epic of a finale in the life of Judy Garland. The film portrays the horrors and aftermath of what eventually destroyed a promising life and a gifted voice. It’s a film that remains sad and sorrow as we look back at Garland’s early success in the “Wizard of Oz” and all those songs that remains in our souls and minds. In Zellweger’s encapsulating performance, it elevates the film and ultimately the emotional core. This is one of the year’s greatest performance.
I rated it 8/10