''Julie Johnson'' is a 2001

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Bob Gosse Bob Gosse (born January 9, 1963) is an American film producer, film director and actor. Background Gosse was born on Long Island, New York. Gosse attended SUNY Purchase where he would meet and collaborate with artists such as Hal Hartley, Nic ...

and starring

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s ...

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

, and

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's ''Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's '' Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...

. Written by Gosse and Wendy Hammond, the plot focuses on a New Jersey housewife (Taylor) who, after separating from her husband, falls in love with her wayward friend (Love) and begins a relationship with her. The film features an original score by

Angelo Badalamenti Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer, best known for his work scoring films for director David Lynch, notably '' Blue Velvet'', the ''Twin Peaks'' saga (1990–1992, 2017), ''The Straight St ...

as well as a soundtrack by

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

. ''Julie Johnson'' debuted at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and was shown at several

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

s worldwide between 2001 and 2004, later appearing on the

here TV Here TV is an American premium television network targeting LGBT audiences. Launched in 2002, Here TV is available nationwide on all major cable systems, fiber optics systems, and Internet TV providers as either a 24/7 premium subscription channe ...

network as part of their films series. Courtney Love won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film for her performance from Los Angeles'

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

in 2001.

Plot

Julie Johnson is a bored

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

housewife who is unhappy with her life and decides to take a computer class at a local college. When her husband finds out and is unsupportive and verbally abusive, she decides that enough is enough and the couple separate. Inspired, her friend Claire leaves her husband, and, having nowhere to go, moves in with Julie and her son and daughter. Living together, Julie and Claire develop a relationship that is more than just a friendship. Problems arise when Julie, immersed in studies, makes new, scholarly, cultured friends and Claire doesn't mesh well with them.

Cast

Production

Filming of ''Julie Johnson'' took place in June 2000 in New Jersey and New York City, with some filming occurring in

Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the west, ...

. Taylor was cast in the title role, and felt that her character was "basically asleep, and then the tension builds and she breaks. This story reminds me of the fairy tale called ''

The Handless Maiden "The Girl Without Hands" or "The helpless Maiden" or "The Armless Maiden" (german: Das Mädchen ohne Hände) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is tale number 31 and was first published in the 1812 edition of ''Children ...

'', and for a while I imagined her without hands, as someone incomplete." Love was inspired to take the role of Claire after becoming acquainted with several LGBT people who were not

out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

: "I grew up on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

with hippies, where if people were gay, they were gay," Love recalled in 2000. "No big deal. But then a couple of years ago, when I started getting projected more into the mainstream and having to deal with mainstream American values and not really understanding it, I started to meet people who weren't out, who weren't resolved with it, and that's the majority of people who live in this country. And I started to have a lot more compassion for the fact that they can't come out, because it's not that easy."

Release

''Julie Johnson'' premiered at the

on January 26, 2001.

Critical response

Andy Bailey of

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

deemed the film "well-intentioned but disastrously executed" despite praising the central performances. Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised the performances of Taylor and Love, but ultimately deemed the film a "limp inspirational drama that lifts its premise whole from ''

Good Will Hunting ''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film received positive r ...

'', then filters that through telepic-ish housewife-empowerment cliches." ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' wrote: "There are some sweet, simmering moments between the two women as both Taylor and Love breathe life into an unlikely script. And despite the downbeat ending that sees maths and star formations triumph over lesbian happiness, it's a warm if oddly dated tale of female emancipation won against the odds."

References

External links

* {{Bob Gosse 2001 films 2001 drama films 2001 independent films 2001 LGBT-related films American drama films American independent films American LGBT-related films Films directed by Bob Gosse Films scored by Angelo Badalamenti Films set in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Films shot in New Jersey Lesbian-related films LGBT-related drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language drama films