The year was 1948, shortly after the end of World War II. Julia Child was an American wife living in Paris. While her husband Paul was working for the USIA (a former U.S. diplomatic agency), she was searching for something to occupy her time. She didn’t speak the language and she hardly knew anything about the country. But she was in France, the home of fine cuisine. The trips to the local markets and the classes at the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school soon showed her the way to the true joie de vivre and the freedom of being away from the rigors of a conservative family in Pasadena. It was away from home that Julia Child discovered herself, her passion for cooking and for teaching.
More than fifty years later, Julie Powell, a young American wife living in Queens, discovered Julia Child. Nothing seemed to have gone as planned in Julie’s life. An aspiring writer, she had failed at an attempt to write a novel and was now trapped in a dead end job. Although she was married to an understanding man she later referred to in her book as a “saint”, they lived in a tiny apartment above a pizza parlor and real life often kicked in, diluting the romance in their relationship. But, just when everything seemed lost, Julia Child’s recipes and her unrepentant enthusiasm gave Julie a chance to write her own recipe for a meaningful life.
In the Julie & Julia film, Nora Ephron, the master of parallel stories, brings together the memoirs written by the two women and intertwines them in a journey of self-discovery and liberation.
How Two Stories Became One
In Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, screenwriter Nora Ephron imagined two opposite protagonists who developed individually, establishing subtle points of congruence between their destinies as the narrative progressed, and allowing those destinies to intersect only in the second half of the movie. The premise is very different in Julie & Julia. The two protagonists are separated both by space and time. They apparently have nothing in common or against each other. There is no relationship that the screenwriter can build a story on. However, the connection between the two protagonists had already been established in real life when, in 2002, Julie Powell decided to write a blog about her ambitious project to cook all the recipes in Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in one year.
On screen, the connections are created through various channels: food, marriage, friendship, failed attempts and persistence. As we watch Julia (Meryl Streep) fight the prejudice of her skeptical Le Cordon Bleu colleagues, we also see Julie (Amy Adams) struggle with her depressing job at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and with the daunting task of cooking sophisticated recipes late at night, in a continuous race to meet the deadline.
In mirrored images, the two heroines are shown working their way around the kitchen and advancing toward their goals, armed with stubbornness and…butter. The reflection is not perfect, however. While Julia Child is determined to become the American cook’s guide to French cuisine and an inspiration to other women – despite Madame Brassart’s (Joan Juliet Buck) verdict that she has “no real talent for cooking” – Julie Powell seems absorbed by a more self-centered project, which is actually an attempt to restore her self-respect and to awaken the voice of the writer inside. Julie is estranged not only from herself, but also from her supportive husband, Eric (Chris Messina), whereas Julia and Paul (Stanley Tucci) have a very passionate relationship, despite Julia’s formal upbringing and the couple’s more advanced age.
The Menu
However different the circumstances of the two heroines, the binding element that seems to bring the two couples together and to define them in relation to the outside world is the same. Food is not merely an aliment in Nora Ephron’s visual feast. It is the ingredient that cements relationships, that brings families and friends together, that reminds them to celebrate life as an event. More than that, it is the element that helps the two protagonists connect despite time and space, while stirring their appetite for life.
The Chefs
It is no surprise that Meryl Streep was chosen to impersonate the first celebrity chef, the woman who transformed French cuisine, one of the finer things in life, making it accessible for regular Americans. Streep completely inhabits the flamboyant, unapologetic Julia Child. Her natural bon humor and the exercised high-pitched voice, with its colorful inflections, recreate a larger-than-life Julia who often monopolizes the screen. Stanley Tucci’s subtle performance as the modest, altruistic Paul Child gives Streep’s Julia even more shine.
Amy Adams’ Julie is the counterbalance to Julia Child. She is self-effacing and lost, but hopeful enough to make the character’s comeback believable. Adams’ vulnerability brings this charming story down to earth.
Bon Appetit!
Julie’s story is perhaps less realistic than Julia Child’s. It is hard to believe someone could find the energy and patience to cook sophisticated dishes every night, for one year, while working a full time job. However, most viewers can identify with the disheartened cubicle worker, more so than with the apparently carefree wife of an American diplomat in France. Real or not, Julie Powell’s story reinforces the idea that perseverance and courage are rewarded in the end. This tale of unexpected success is easy to digest and will most likely have a positive impact on female audiences. We all want to believe the recipe for a good life is within our reach.
- Produced by: Columbia Pictures
- Directed and adapted by: Nora Ephron
- Based on the books: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child /Alex Prud’homme
- Runtime: 123 minutes
