top 5 of best acting scenes by julia

[berlioz]

some days ago on the mona lisa smile topic i realized how different our tastes are in matter of acting.so i think it would be intersting to make the top five of the scenes in which julia's acting reaches its best.you have to choose 5 scenes (they can belong even to the same movie,if you want).
5=from mystic pizza,after dinner at charlie's home,when julia screams her disappointment to charlie:in her first movies i think julia's acting was maybe a little immature but very powerful,instinctive and spontaneus.this scene proves this,julia is beautiful and intense.
4=from coadm,when patricia visits chuck in his room for the first time.julia is here so classic and cold,she reminds me of marlene dietrich:a perfect dark lady,smart and cruel.this scenes proves julia's self-caricature and her versatility.her erotic charge is here enormus.
3=from pretty woman,during the businnes dinner in her black cocktail dress.she's just perfect,sunny,funny and sexy at the same time.only audrey hepburne reached this kind of graceful acting.
2=from erin brockovich,the last scene when ed tells her there's no money for them.i really like this scene since julia's performance is full of energy but it's not overacted,she respectfully lets finney his part,she acts with him and not over him.her eyes are so deep and moving that i'm amazed every time i see this scene
1=from closer,the big scene opposite to clive owen.here julia acts with every single fibre of her face and she's capable of calibrate her acting power:at the beginning she perfectly underacts and finally explodes with an impressive energy you can forget.
this is my top 5.what about you?

[Julianne]

That's a very good question. And very difficult to decide!
Let me think about it... ...
Okay, here is my top five:

1. Coadm: When Julia realizes, that she drank the poisonous tea and dies.
2. PW: Julia in the scene in front of the elevator, after her fight with Edward.
3. Mbfw: Julia in the scene on the ferry
4. EB: When Julia is in the car and hears about Emilys first word.
5. Stepmom: the scene with Susan Sarandon in the bar

[jo-t]

5. America's Sweetheart- The scene where she's indulging and ranting to Billy Chrystal

4. MBFW- When she realizes she wont have Michael

3. MLS- when she comes into class after she reads the article written by Betty

2. PW- there's two I love here- the first time Vivienne goes shopping and is regected and talking to Barney, and of course, the jewllery box scene

1. Closer- The scene with Clive Owen. It's so un-Julia like, but amazing the same time. I was holding my breath, it was so good.

[Oliver]

Julia´s top 5 acting scenes? Ooohhh myyyyy gooood, THAT is hard! That´s CRUEL, my dear friend berlioz!!! She´s got so many, how am I supposed to pick just 5? Let´s try... but please in no special order... I just can´t rank these and for sure I will overlook some by now and lateron regret this list... But, okay: I decided to pick some of the scenes where she did her best eye work. Julia is such a perfect actress, there ARE more than just 5 best scenes! But she gets to me mostly when she does her acting mainly with her eyes... I´m just blown away all the time when she does this....

Michael Collins: When Kitty realises that Mick got shot...

Mystic Pizza: The quarrel with her mom at the car. You know, this "You are really good at this, making me feel like shit." scene. Her eye work blows me away! Already there it became obvious what she can do with her eyes...

My best friends wedding: The "cat fight" scene on the toilets... especially the end of it... watch Julia´s eyes! AMAZING!!!

Erin Brockovich: The whole movie!!
OMG, 1 scene? ONE scene??? Okay, ONE scene!
The scene with Donna Jensen about still "technically" being a woman without uterus and no breasts... both actresses are just overwhelming in this one, btw...

And yes, I would agree to this scene opposite to Clive Owen in Closer. Probably the best acting EVER...

OMG, this is killing me... there are so many more...:
What about The Pelican Brief? On the bed in that hotel room, after Darby´s boyfriend got killed in a car-bomb... The way she buttons up her dress, just brilliant... and her eyes....
And what about Mona Lisa Smile? There is just simply not only one... I can´t pick one... I can´t...
And what about Dying Young? The "you want me to tell you `I love you´" scene? And the one in the telephone booth?
And what about Sleeping with the enemy? The scene with Ben on the stairs?
And Pretty Woman? The scene with this Stuckey guy at the polo-match? And the quarrel scene with Edward? And...
And Steel Magnolias? The stroke scene?

And what about...

And what about...

And what about...

[berlioz]

i admit the answer is a little cruel and sadistic ...it was hard for me too .as for your choices,oli,i need to rewatch michael collins and the final scene,but i totally agree with your tastes here,especially about the cat fight from mbfw(beautiful scene and acting!).

[Marlon]

this is such a hard question and no doubt i will f-ck up with my choices but here they are..

erin brockovich - when she comes home after having gotten fired to find george fixing her plumbing. i'm talking about the bed scene where she asks so heartbreakingly "are you gonna be something else i'm gonna have to survive?" something about her voice is so convincing, really made me feel that she is indeed falling apart.

my best friend's wedding - the scene when she's chasing michael all over the city, what an exhilirating comedic performance. she jumps, so physical with the comedy (stunt woman haha) and her hilarious conversation about the puss and the mucus crap.

dying young - when she finds out that victor has been sick the whole time. i wonder why she wasn't nominated for anything for this. she's got that whole street foul mouth down and her fire, anger and heartbreak is almost overwhelming.

mystic pizza - when she thought that her boyfriend is seeing someone else and decides to take the scorned woman bit to the next level. no wonder ebert said that she's a firecracker. she really is. this was the first time, i saw julia with so much energy, mixing anger and comedy.

closer - the break up scene between anna and larry is the most honest acting that she's done. the closeups, the eyes and the "i'm disgusting" line. this is the scene that changed a lot of people's mind about her acting ability.

[Shona]

1. Opening scene in Erin Brockovich when Erin is desperate for a job

2. Breakup scene in Closer w/ Clive Owen

3. Lawyer attacking Vivian in Pretty Woman

4. First lip kiss scene in Pretty woman

5. When Anna realizes the Paparrazzi have found her in Notting Hill

6. Diabetic shock scene in Steel Magnlias...When mom tries to give her o.j (incredible)

7. Scene in Notting Hill where Anna is trying to convince Hugh Grant to forgive her and try again and he rejects her (ahhhhhhh)

8. Scene in Erin Brockovich where the cockroach crosses the floor and Erin screams "who lives like this"

9. Well okay...all of Erin B. Flawless performance and all of Notting Hill another flawless performance BTW...just watched NH on holiday (borrowed my neighbors copy) and fell in love even more with that movie and have decided next to Erin Brocovich this was Julia's finest bit of acting!

[Marlon]

i forgot to include her wig out scene in notting hill. i remember thinking how i wanted to swim into her eyes when she was explaining to hugh the deal about the newspapers. her eyes were so brown, so big, like pools of feelings. i wanted to get lost in them, lost in her eyes.

and that scene she had in steel magnolias, where she was all shocked and shaking was golden. she was so young, so untouched and yet, she acted like a pro and walked away with the nominations.

[bleh]

This is too hard to narrow it down and then rank them, so some ones I love that have gone unmentioned (I think):

(Probably spoilers)

the opera scene in PW especially when the singer hits that note and Julia really feels it

the maid of honour speech in MBFW (and the single tear while dancing on the boat)

every time Erin gets angry or emotional - "you fucking piece of crap with no signal", "that is my work, my sweat, my time away from my kids, and if that's not personal, I don't know what is" - plus the awesome comic delivery of all those quotable lines

the fear on her face when getting kidnapped and watching Gandolfini shoot Leroy in The Mexican

the whole exchange with Clooney in O11, especially the way she leans forward to say"he doesn't make me cry"

her last scene in COADM

kissing Dan in Closer

[berlioz]

yes,bleh!when she kisses dan she's magic:without saying a word you can actually say what she's feeling...

[Mark]

I can't do a top 5 -

In <b>Notting Hill</b> she is heartbreaking at the dinner table. Equally terrific the morning after she has discovered the press has found her hiding spot. And the whole "I'm Just A Girl..." she nails it.

In <b>Pretty Woman</b> I think my favorite moment when she tells Edward "the bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?" - this is where my crush developed.
I also love her at the horsing event - "I'm not trying to land him. I'm just using him for sex." And also outside of the hotel. "Honey, I got a runner in my panty hose. (Beat). I'm not wearing panty hose."

In <b>Erin Brockovich</b> she rocks when she reacts to missing her child's first word in the car. And then when she asks George -"Are you gonna be something else I have to surivie?" She is also great when she is sick and lashes out Ed for not being honest with her. "Not personal..."

In <b>Steel Magnolias</b> she rocks when she is stubborn, despearate, so in love and tells her mom "I'd rather have thirty minutes of wonderful then a lifetime of nothing special." And of course the diabetic shock sequence. I also love the moment when her finacee leavs her bedroom the day of the wedding. She shows just how frightened and in love the woman is.

In <b>Closer</b> she's the best she's ever been with her fight opposite Clive Owen. I love the moment of her sitting on the couch before Larry has even come home. And the entire opening with Dan? Jude and Julia had a great onscreen kiss. The best of last year. And then you have the breakup scene where Dan is leaving to go the bathroom and Julia's face changes in a gesture... and then she pleads "Don't stop loving me. I can see it draining out of you." She's desperate, naive, in love, so hopeless and lost. And tired. I feel how tired this woman is.

In <b>My Best Friend's Wedding</b> she rocks on that ferry boat. That is some of her best acting. And then when Julianne tells Michael the ring is stuck on her finger... or just shows him. It's over with Kimmy. And the entire end sequence with her running, jumping, screaming, crying - "I'm fungus."

In <b>Mystic Pizza</b> her confrontation with Charlie. "I'm poor and I hate it, but I'm not half as despearate as you." And then with her mother. "You're really good at this. Making me feel like shit." Often times you hear about her walk in <b>Pretty Woman</b>, but I love her walk in this film. She captures young youth.

I love her in <b>Sleeping With the Enemy</b> when she is on the stairs and doesn't want to have sex with Ben. She is so vulernable on the phone with her mother. I always felt this was an award calibre performance from her. People talk about what films of hers will be remembered. I think this will be one. I love the way she takes the beating from her husband. She crumbles and collapes.

In <b>The Pelican Brief</b> her reaction to the car bombing - from the scene of the crime. To the police car. To the hospital. To that hotel room. I love how she changes her voice for this. Barely registering a whisper sometimes.

In <b>Something To Talk About</b> she might have her most underrated performance. Her discovery and confrontation to her husbands infidelity. Her lashing out at the woman's luncheon. Her talk with her mother about keeping it quite. The scene where she is poisions her husbands food. And then the scene at night where she eats dessert with that guy who wants to buy back his horse.

[Marlon]

yes, i forgot about how amazing she is in sleeping with the enemy. the uncertainty in her movement when she stops fooling around with ben in the stairs and the fatalism in her eyes when she tells the cops "i just killed an intruder". it's a really good performance. of course in something to talk about too, talk about underrated performance. there were so many scenes that i could choose from that movie. when she catches her husband cheating, her stunned look and when she confronts her father during dinner "everything is a okay.."

ohh, i love her.

i think sleeping with the enemy will be remembered too. there's so many people who remember the neurosis of that character, martin.

[Oliver]

OMG, yes yes yes!!!! These are all moments when Jules was acting perfectly!!!!!!!! Every single one of it!

And there are more:

Flatliners: The scene when she discovers her father with this needle in his hands...

Hook: The "do you like my dress?" scene (I do not really like this movie, but Jules is amazing in it!) How she turns from anxiousness to enthusiasm to desperation... blows me away....

Mary Reilly: The skinning of the eel... her way of showing how shocked and disgusted Mary is and how she tries to take herself together... AMAZING

Something to talk about: Yes, dove, I agree 100%, this is one of the shamefully underrated performances of Julia. Another example to prove this is the scene when Grace is approaching her mother after coming back from her husband in the hospital... this look!!

Runaway bride: The scene with Richard outside the luau (do you spell it this way?)... "Am I right...am I right?" The way she modulates her voice there...

Notting Hill: This short sequence when she is coming up against these guys, who were tattling about Anna Scott... the way she demonstrates within her moving how Anna is preparing herself for the things she´s going to tell them...

etc. etc. etc.

There are hundreds!
We definitely need a thread with Julia´s best performances in each movie... I feel there are at least 5 times 5 in everyone of them... with her having made 30something movies that would make hundreds of best performance sequences of hers...


Oh, and dove, congrats for having become a "veteran" with this particular post! You noticed it? Finally!!!

[berlioz]

i love the scene in which julia becomes a woman in hook and confesses to peter her love...her eyes are full of hope and then,when he refuses her (crazy man!!!!!) ,her face darkens suddenly but you can still see she will always love her.
as for sleeping with the enemy,i find she's simply stunning and beautiful but i don't like her performance that much,especially at the beginning of the movie:when she's happy she smiles,when she's scared she opens her eyes wide...i've the impression she doesn't give the character the right depth.but i admit in the final scene she's good.

[Marlon]

i'm shocked, b.
SHOCKED!!!

she was absolutely effective when she was staring at the ocean, planning almost, like there's turmoil behind her eyes. i think the reason why she looked all flat in the initial scenes because the character is supposed to be that way, kind of unsure about her situation.