It’s hard to consider the history of music in cinema without mentioning the star power and gravitas of Miss Judy Garland. Her films with Vincente Minelli and her timeless roles in “A Star Is Born” and “The Wizard of Oz” still sparkle today due to her immense screen presence: a combination of innocence and glowing confidence. And like many emotionally captivating performers, she suffered off-screen in a life equally worthy of cinematic treatment. She stands as a real-life symbol of the worst that fame can do. The career of Renée Zellweger was affected in a similar but less dramatic way. It seems her skyrocket to prominence in the early 2000s resulted in the career hiatus of the 2010s. Where Garland experienced tragedy, Zellwegger has seen a modest revival in reprising her magnetic role as Bridget Jones in the series’ third installment and starring in various dramas such as “The Whole Truth” and “Same Kind of Different As Me.”Her next role as Judy Garland in the eponymous film, “Judy,” looks to remind us of why we were drawn to Zellweger’s performances in the first place.
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The story is an adaptation of the stage play, “End of the Rainbow,” by Peter Quilter, in which Garland’s last days are portrayed and explored. Director Rupert Goold is a masterful director of theatre, having only made a mark on cinema with the 2015 thriller, “True Story.” For a sophomore feature, “Judy” is an expansive effort that appears to have an aesthetic emulating the vibrant hues of a Minelli picture. In his approach to the film and central performance, Goold had this to say in a press release:
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“I had always wanted to make a film that explores great performance and its cost. The most fertile ground for such exploration seemed to be at the end of a lifetime of performance. For over 40 years, Judy Garland had laughed and loved and entertained no matter what life threw at her, and her public adored her for it. But she paid the price in a childhood lost to Hollywood, an emotional exhaustion and a yearning for a “normal” life beyond the rainbow. It is a compelling and moving story that I hope will inspire new audiences to discover Judy Garland’s joyous legacy.
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“I felt Renee was uniquely qualified to play Judy”,” Goold said in a statement. “First, because she is a great, Oscar-winning dramatic actress. Second, she is a wonderful comedienne. And third, I knew from CHICAGO that she could sing. I made it clear to Renee that I wasn’t looking for an impersonation of Judy Garland’s inimitable voice, but what I wanted was for Renee to make the songs her own and this she did to thrilling effect.”
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From Goold’s presentation and what looks to be quite an absorbing performance from Zellwegger, “Judy” could be a biopic that breaks from the trend of grand, modern operas like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman,” to settle for something more down-to-earth and human, evoking an era of Hollywood deserving of memory. Roadside Attractions and LD Entertainment will release “Judy” in theaters September 27, 2019. Watch the new trailer below.
