Thirty years after starring in The Wizard of Oz (1939), beloved actress and singer Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in London, England to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband.... (Full plot summary below)
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Thirty years after starring in The Wizard of Oz (1939), beloved actress and singer Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in London, England to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Leave your thoughts about Judy.
| TheWrapAlonso DuraldeSomehow, through the alchemy of acting and makeup and lighting and costuming, all traces of Zellweger are erased, and only Judy remains. |
| Film ThreatAlan NgIf there was ever a film that screamed Best Actress Oscar-bait, it’s Judy. But damn, Renée Zellweger is absolutely fantastic in this role, and absolutely deserves Best Actress honors. Yes, I know the year’s not over yet, but the bar is set high. |
| Washington PostAnn HornadayThe result is a relatively straightforward slice-of-life biopic, bogged down with flashbacks and backstage histrionics, that nonetheless offers an utterly transfixing glimpse at the art of screen performance writ gloriously, glamorously large. |
| VarietyGuy LodgeDirector Rupert Goold and resurgent star Renée Zellweger have pulled off something unusual and affecting in Judy: a biographical portrait in which performer and subject meet halfway, illuminating something of each other in the process. |
| Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattIf the blond, marathon-lean Zellweger hardly seems like a natural doppelganger for Garland, she subsumes herself completely in the role, without ever tipping over into some kind of gestural Judy drag. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerThis is one of those solo turns where the star performance matters more than the story, and Renee Zellweger, playing the legendary singer Judy Garland in her sad last months – broke, anxious, drunk, rueful, but still in it – gives it everything she’s got. |
| New York PostSara StewartNo matter how well you know “Over the Rainbow,” you may never hear it as heartbreakingly performed as Zellweger sings it here. |
| Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsZellweger’s film — and it is hers — creates an intimate illusion that feels authentic, witty and affecting. |
| The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldWhat’s most appealing about Zellweger’s portrayal is the brightness that peeps out from the clouds: her deep love for her children, her sly wit. |
| Boston GlobeTy BurrIf you saw Judy Davis as Garland in the 2001 miniseries “Me and My Shadows,” you know that’s a performance to beat. Zellweger matches it in her own way, through hair and makeup but mostly by channeling a kind of terrified bravura that’s riveting to watch. This Judy knows she’s an icon, and she knows it does her no good, and it’s all she’s got. |
