MovieChat Forums > Being Julia (2005) Discussion > The reverse double standard!

The reverse double standard!


Julia commits adultery with a young man, and that's supposed to be good.
Her husband commits adultery with a young woman, and that's supposed to be bad.
Is Julia supposed to be the world's biggest hypocrite? It would seem so.

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Who said any of the adultery was GOOD? Julia wasn't exactly likable as in a person we would all like for a best friend, but she was an interesting, flawed character in a film... played beautifully by a very talented actress.

...and that's all I have to say about that.

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I don't think it was Michael's sleeping with A young woman, but THAT young woman in particular, the woman that Julia sees as a direct threat to her career. I think it was pretty clear that they both had affairs with people--Julia's line "we have our separate lives," or something like that.

Julia also is not necessarily a "good" character, just an aging actress in a society that prefers young women to older. She has to make her way somehow. The great part of this movie is that nothing is good or bad, it just is. Did the young actress get what she deserved in the end? Not really--she wasn't that bad of a person. But Julia was the hero of the story, for better or worse.

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Great answer.....I don't think "Julia" was that upset about her husband's affair with Avice, as "Tom" was now in the same boat she was.....

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Julia wasn't pissed that her husband was having an affair with Avice. She was pissed because Tom broke it off with her while asking her to check out Avice. She knew right off that her plan was to humiliate Avice as best as possible. The mere fact that her husband was knocking boots with Avice was just more ammo for her. She wasn't PO'd at her husband but at Avice. That's why she demolished her self-esteem so heartily. I loved that scene - it was brilliant!

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I just for the most part they had an open marriage. Although both appeared hurt, they were not too shocked by each other's cheating. But you could tell they cared about each other. The husband did kiss Julia after the play.

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> Her husband commits adultery with a young woman, and that's supposed to be bad.

Come on, all she did was raise an eyebrow. Maybe she already knew. Maybe he was in on the revenge plot from the start. Makes perfect sense, actually.

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I think the only reason Julia cared about the husband's affair was the threat to her career. That he put an untalented actress who wanted to upstage her in a play she was in.

HER affair didn't threaten her husband's career, after all.

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Julia targeted the young actress only. Avice didn't do anything that she hadn't done herself. If she was p*ssed off at all three then why target only 1? Seems older woman was just jealous and threatened of a younger better looking version of herself (though not a better actress!) and just targeted her in a bitchy catty and passsive aggressive way.

She should just have been more honest and refused to work with the younger girl then told Tom and her husband her true feelings.

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>Avice didn't do anything that she hadn't done herself. If she was p*ssed off at all three then why target only 1

Hurting Avice was the best way to hurt Tom.

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