Judy (5 Stars)

This is a film I've wanted to see for months, not because I'm particularly a fan of Judy Garland, but because I like true stories ("biopics") in general. The film has received positive reviews, but I would have gone to see it anyway.

The film tells the story of her visit to England in her later years. It wasn't stated in the film when this happened, but I read her life story on the bus after the film, and it was in 1968. Her marriage to Micky Deans is shown out of sequence, i.e. it must have been after the stage appearance at the end of the film, but I suppose you can allow film makers some artistic license for dramatisation purposes.

There are flashbacks to Judy's film career as a teenager, ages 14 to 15, but not many. There are just enough to explain the background of the later events.

In 1968 Judy Garland was deeply in debt. Hotels would no longer give her a room because of unpaid bills. Nobody was interested in her in America. She was out of fashion. Nobody wanted to pay money to see a 46-year-old child star. She was advised to go to England, where she had a large fan following. Her shows were sold out weeks in advance at the Talk Of The Town nightclub in London.

At first things went well, but she was no longer used to the strict routine of daily shows. On some evenings she performed badly due to alcohol and drug abuse. (It's not stated in the film what the pills are that she keeps swallowing, but her life story describes them as amphetamines). Her contract was terminated early, and the club owner threatened to sue her.

In parallel we see her custody battle for her two small children. Her ex-husband Sidney Luft wants to keep the children to make sure they go to school. They love their mother, but they're ashamed of her out-of-control lifestyle.

Judy's ups and downs in the few months of the film's story are uplifting and heart wrenching. Renee Zellweger's performance brought tears to my eyes, especially in the later scenes. She won the Best Actress award at yesterday's Gilden Globes ceremony. She deserves it. Let's wait and see if she wins the same award at the Academy Awards next month.