Judy

I think it’s easy to take against this film, it doesn’t really explore anything different and if like me you don’t know much about Judy Garland, it’s hard to judge whether it’s an accurate reflection of the end of Garlands life.

But that said, what this film has is a wonderful central performance by Renee Zellweger, she dominates the screen with a powerful and nuanced portrayal of Garland.

The film shows the sadness of Garlands life from young star through to troubled superstar where years of drink and drugs have taken a heavy toll, a life of broken marriages, hangers on and people keen to hang their hat from Garlands star.

There’s plenty of touching moments in her performance, sadness, loneliness and maybe most touching of all those little bits of happiness that come when she performs and moments she gets to live a normal life.

While the film is no earth shattering expose and treads a well warn path of movie of a tragic star (dying at just 47) it is definitely elevated by a captivating performance by Zellweger and well supported especially by the increasingly watchable Jessie Buckely. There’s also a lovely final moment, when she sings.. well you know what she sings…

Won’t rock everybody’s world, but if you’re like me and get drawn into the central performance you’ll go with it and find a touching and tragic story.