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Parents' Guide to

Miss Julie

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Strong performances, but play adaptation is too talky.

Movie PG-13 2014 129 minutes
Miss Julie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 17+

Based on 1 parent review

E S.
E S. Adult
October 9, 2017
age 17+

Do not let your teen watch this movie

This movie is disturbing on so many levels. I am shocked that common sense says it’s ok for 14 year olds. The entire movie is built around their lust for each other. While a sex act nor actual nudity is shown, you know what they have done. After they have sex, she is bleeding (they show this). Then they alternate between making out and screaming at each other. Talking about love and then screaming horrible names at other. (He calls her a whore many times) He also, in a fit of rage, grabs her pet canary out of her hands and chops the canary’s head off with a kitchen knife. They show it... they show the decapiated bird and the blood. She then starts shouting and crying and puts her fingers in the canary’s blood and wipes it all over her face. The next 30 minutes of the movie, she has the canary blood all over her face. He finally convinces her that the only way out is to kill herself. He provides her with his straight razor and tells her exactly where to go and how to do it. The next scene she is laying in a creek with blood coming out of her wrists and at the same time he puts on his servant coat and brings his master his coffee. No consequences, just able to go on with his normal life like nothing has happened, while she lays bleeding to death in the creek. It is a highly disturbing movie that would be extremely difficult for any teen to process.
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What's the Story?

Over the course of a long midsummer's eve night in 1880s Ireland, MISS JULIE (Jessica Chastain) and John (Colin Farrell) flirt shamelessly, clearly attracted to each other, drawing ever closer. But it cannot be -- she's the baron's daughter, he's a servant in their household, and their interactions are all flavored by their unequal power dynamic. As they bristle under the strict class structure of their era, the hint of illicit interaction has already led to gossip in the village. Julie and John come up with a plot to run away together, but it's not clear whether either of them has the nerve to go through with it.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

The ferocity of Chastain's performance lifts Miss Julie somewhat -- as do, to a slightly lesser extent, the turns by Farrell and co-star Samantha Morton. But let's be honest: There's only so much an actor can do. Bound by a script and staging that give the movie a certain claustrophobia that stands up much better on stage than in celluloid, this overwrought drama doesn't quite take flight.

Despite its intimate setup -- there are only three characters -- it feels removed, with the feelings unfolding in every frame unable to mask a certain lack of groundedness. Watch it for the acting, but be prepared for your mind to wander. An August Strindberg play -- the original source material -- deserves more than this.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Miss Julie and John. Did their relationship have any chance, considering that her father's a nobleman and he's a servant? What does the movie have to say about social class?

  • Does this feel like a play or a movie? Can you tell that it's based on a stage play?

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