There are good qualities to this film, and from the standpoint of technical virtues it is arguably outstanding (filmography, music, acting, settings, costumes, film editing—to name a few). However, the humanistic dimension is deplorable, with bad behavior being exalted beyond belief and all seemingly free from any consequences—to the extent I felt evil was being promoted as the way to live. The very loud message of the film: go ahead and smoke, drink, sell your body, back up over someone standing behind your car, kidnap, steal cars, kill a man by shooting at his head at short range, leave a child with murderers, etc (this list is far from exhaustive). Do all this and be certain that because you finally demonstrate some modicum of regard for a boy and his mother, you will never be punished in any way. This film should be Exhibit A when arguments about the immorality of Hollywood are made.

This movie starts with an alcoholic,disturbed,presumable hooker middle aged hot woman Tilda Swinton,It's OK until then lol..After that she gets involved in kidnapping a supposedly son of a Mexican girl she knew in junkie meetings.. that's what kids like to call ''plot twist!''My problem with this... why the hell 2 hours long? OK the length is OK ...let's just say that,the movie keeps you hooked I admit it,but somehow it's flawed,terribly flawed.Why does she act like a criminal at first and then she's a caring mummy telling you to eat your vegetables?Besides,they didn't knew when to stop or how to stop. Maybe if they just sticked to the drama(she seems pretty disturbed at first,I mean,one does not simply ran out their cars on people) instead of (try to)show us up the bad side of Mexico in a overacted/unreal way.3 stars It starts well but then fails miserably in a strange way,love u Tilda Swinton anyway.

Just watched this film on TV and love it. Tilda Swinton's acting is extremely good here. Most actresses tend to over-act in such a role but Tilda's acting is just perfect. The story line is good, fast moving and interesting. Good directing also judging from the high acting standard as a whole here. Surprised that this movie did not win any other awards other than the British. The movie happened in United States and Mexico and good choice of filming sites. Only thing I can suggest is to have a more dynamic tittle for the film. I have not watched this film until now because I was not aware it was going to be such a nice thriller type of film.

This movie is about an alcoholic woman's transformation during a wild road trip. While I found the first 20 minutes hard to get through, and almost stopped watching, I found the remainder of the movie mesmerizing. Tilda Swinton is beyond amazing. You can't take your eyes off her. And you can't wait to see what will happen next as she digs herself deeper and deeper into a mess.Having said all that, there were major gaps in the story line. For instance, she was out of money, which is why she tried to pull off this stunt, so where did she get all the money she used on the trip? Did I miss something? With Thelma and Louise, they robbed the convenience store to get money. Julia needed to do something like that to explain her funds.The beginning was especially awkward as a nutty woman from an AA meeting approached Julia with a scheme to kidnap the woman's son from a guardian and get ransom. That whole proposal happened too quickly and was jarring. Then, what happened to that woman during the story? We never found out.I'm surprised to find so many things wrong with the story line and yet still give his movie a high rating. Swinton is that good. If you can get through the first bit, and suspend disbelief a little more than normal regarding plot, watching this woman's journey from a boozy barfly into a compassionate being is well worth the trip.