Film Night – Judy
Drama – 118 mins – Cert 12A
Director: Rupert Goold
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley
Bookings: email filmnight@rockbournevillagehall.org.uk or
phone Lucy Matthews 01725 518695
Released in October 2019, JUDY is a drama, based on real events, which concerns US singer and actress Judy Garland’s arrival in England to perform a series of concerts in 1968.
What is it about Judy Garland that has kept generations in thrall? Undoubtedly it is her voice; resonating with a unique melancholy, even when partnering Micky Rooney in the Andy Hardy movies of the 1930s. And why did she become such an icon for young gay men? Rupert Goold’s splendid film JUDY, based on the play ‘The End of the Rainbow’ by Peter Quilter, goes a long way to answering these questions. Of course, the ‘Rainbow’ is the one at the end of the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ that leads to ‘Oz’. I can never hear this song by Arlen and Harburg without succumbing to a few tears; it’s that yearning for the possibility of a better world to which the song and this moving film give expression.
Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones) very bravely sings this and all the numbers herself, when modern dubbing technique would have made it possible to use Judy’s originals. In 1968 Judy, broke and close to despair, took an engagement to perform in London at the Talk of the Town. The theatre sold out, largely to the young gay men of Soho; at that time Old Compton Street was home to a dozen Italian grocer shops (before they became delicatessens), the Helvetia was a refreshment stop for peripatetic striptease artists and the Admiral Duncan was just a boozer. Zellweger is simply stupendous in this award-winning performance, and Jesse Buckley manages to steal a scene or two. The film is moving, rewarding and an accurate depiction of the West End in the late sixties. And if you ever get a chance to see ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ (Vincente Minnelli 1944) you will appreciate why Judy Garland is such an enduring star.
John Crome
Click here to read about Judy on IMDb
Click here to download the flyer in pdf format
Doors open 7:00pm, Film 7:30pm £6, Supper 9:45pm £6, wine £12/bottle
Pay at the door, last bookings 12:00 Sunday 16th February
Next RVH FILM NIGHT: WED 18 MAR, film Sometimes Always Never
Also note: ROCKBOURNE VILLAGE HALL AGM 22 JAN 7:00PM AT THE VILLAGE HALL – Rockbourne residents welcome