Julie & Julia

I'd been looking forward to this film for a while, mostly because I love films about food (for those who need a fix, try "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" or "Babette's Feast" for true foodie film indulgence). While the food elements were good, it was the portrayal of the relationship between Julia Child and her husband Paul that was the true force of the film.

As Julie cooks her way through Julia, hoping to gain some meaning in her life, we see Julia her self pulling herself into the cooking world and bringing French cooking to Americans. Her life and her marriage bring her hardships and heartache, but throughout it all she maintains a laugh and a love for her husband that is unsinkable. Julie, on the other hand, is "a bitch" as described by her own best friend, and I couldn't agree more. She is whiny and self-centred, heaping abuse on her well-meaning and saint-like husband. She seems to pull herself around at the end, but only after achieving success beyond reason as a result of her blog, so it is unclear whether she really learns the life lessons beyond cooking from Julia, or if her new success makes them now unnecessary.

Meryl Streep is a goddess. There is no other word for her. She so completely becomes Julia Child that we stop seeing Meryl Streep, which is exactly what is required here. The loving, moving, close relationship between Julia and Paul is captured beautifully by Meryl and Stanley Tucci, and is truly the best part of the story.

Of course, it will be a crime if Meryl is not nominated for an Oscar for this, but I'll also predict something for Stanley, for the costumes and art direction - for the Julia sequences, mostly.