Nora Ephron’s “Julie and Julia” revolves around Julia Child, the legendary chef and Julie Powell, an ordinary woman paving her way to fame by whipping up the former’s recipes. Though half a century apart, these two women get connected through their passion for cooking.
Adapted from Julia Child’s memoir, My life in France and Julie Powell’s book, Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, the movie is one of those select few chick flicks where the women don’t run after weddings, men or shoes, but are determined to do something in life and make a difference. Though marriage is an important feature in the lives of both women, it isn’t the point and that alone makes the movie interesting to watch.
Meryl Streep stars as Julia Child, the renowned chef bringing French cooking to America with her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking published in 1961 while Amy Adams plays the role of Julie Powell, a modern-day blogger who manages to escape her stressful life by setting a goal for cooking 524 recipes from Julia Child’s book within a year.
The opening of the movie is set in the late 50’s. Julia, who is happily married to Paul Child (played by Stanely Tucci), enrolls in the famous culinary institute Cordon Bleu to do something meaningful and later discovers that her initiative brings her delight. Fifty years later, Julie Powell finds herself feeling tired of her cubicle job and blackberry flaunting friends and so, decides to set sail on a culinary voyage.
Drawing parallels between the lives and similarities of both the women; the thirst for achievement, the passion for cooking and the challenging life in general, coupled with butter, eggs and conviction, Julie and Julia is definitely a powerful movie made to enthrall whoever watches it. While many reviews rave about Meryl Streep’s performance, which undoubtedly is the best owing to how convincing she is with the spot-on Julia Child accent and humor, it was equally compelling to watch Powell struggle in her shabby little kitchen, confronting her fears and becoming a better person.
The climax of the movie revolves around both the cooks publishing their books and the audience is made aware of how the formula to culinary success and fame lies in ambition, determination, gastronomic obsessions and familial support.
Contributed by Hirra Pervaiz for Kluchit.com
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