What Julia Shames really needs is some
firearms training from an old school vigilante like Death Wish’s Paul Kersey. Instead, the rape victim is recruited by
a vaguely satanic, crypto-feminist cult. Sexual politics take a sinister turn,
possibly even trumping revenge in Matthew A. Brown’s Julia (trailer here),
which opens tomorrow in select cities.
This Julia
should absolutely not be mistaken for the 1977 Lillian Hellman film,
although she might approve of the later film’s sentiments. Mousy Shames (how’s
that for a heavy-handed name?) is brutally raped and left for dead by a former
co-worker and his three thuggish friends. However, she survives because the
reluctant one feels a last minute pang of conscience. Walking through Brooklyn
in a daze, she is quickly identified and recruited by Dr. Sgundud’s cult-like
organization.
He promises empowerment and revenge against
the testosterone-driven rape culture, but his rules are rigid. First and
foremost, she more forgo personal vengeance, in favor of waging a broader
campaign against aggressive and entitled men. During her probationary period,
the mysterious Sadie will be her coach and minder. Soon, they are also lovers.
However, Shames is about to break Sgundud’s cardinal rule, because what’s the
point of revenge, if it isn’t personal?
By genre standards Julia is unusually stylish, particularly Frank Hall’s
electro-minimalist score. Unfortunately, the film is an absolute traffic jam of
half-baked revelations and awkwardly didactic plot points. Rather than
thrilling or scaring, the most applicable adjective-verb is “frustrating.”
Right from the start, Brown makes it clear
there will be no vicarious satisfaction allowed from Shames’ vengeance-taking,
which is problematic for a revenge thriller (Reversal, now known as Bound
to Vengeance is an example of how this is done right). Instead, there are
horror movie trappings mixed with a hallucinatory psychological drama, overlaid
by a lesbian co-dependent morality tale. Even more distracting, Brown opens a
huge can of worms with Sgundud’s big reveal, without ever really dealing with
the implications.
