Juliet, Naked is an adaptation of a Nick Hornby book, which I haven’t read yet, but is sitting on my shelf. It is about Annie, played by Rose Byrne, whom most people know from the X-Men reboot, a curator who feels stagnant in her career, her home and relationships. Things shake up when her boyfriend, Duncan, played by Chris O’Dowd, gets a demo CD by his favorite artist, a singer songwriter named Tucker Crowe, played by Ethan Hawke, and Annie disagrees with his assessment of the work.
Juliet, Naked may not be a life changing masterpiece, but it is an entertaining, funny and occasionally melancholy exploration of what a midlife crisis looks like for our generation. It is the kind of pleasing movie that you take for granted, but it is actually much harder to make characters seem real and effortless. O’Dowd deserves a special tightrope award because while he is undeniably a complete jerk that no one would want their friend to date, he still imbues him with enough relatability to never become hateful and still elicit our sympathy in some small measure. I think that the movie made a great choice to show him what he looks like in the outside world as a functional adult so you can understand why we should root for Annie and not think that any woman is an idiot for fancying him. He is engaging and would be interesting to talk to until you get him home or end up on his favorite subject then alarm bells would and should go off. His interior life gets the best of him leaving Annie with scraps and taken for granted. He is going through a similar midlife crisis, but he actually does something about it albeit in the least morally ethical way.
Duncan is a very kind depiction of the guy in the basement with the virtual boys club with no girls allowed who mansplains everything and has to be an expert. The reason that we don’t hate him is because he is completely unaware of what a spoiled little boy he is. He genuinely does love deeply and isn’t afraid to feel and geek out about things. I probably have as much in common with Duncan as I do with Annie.
On the other end of the spectrum is Tucker. He lived such a full life so rapidly that he has to take a moment to appreciate what he has and catch his breath, but he is uncertain whether he will ever get it right—live fully and well. Ethan Hawke is perfect for the role of the reclusive J. D. Salinger of alternative rock from his roles in Richard Linklater’s films and Maggie’s Plan. It feels like a completely plausible parallel life lived by one of the many characters that he already played as if it was a sequel in an alternate dimension. Hawke is the kind of actor that I usually take for granted, but he has been doing decades of steady, solid work and making it seem easy.
In contrast to Duncan, Tucker is an actual adult who is capable of fully interacting and engaging with a person, but similar to Duncan, he disappoints the people in his real world more than the virtual because of the major mistakes that he has made. Unlike Duncan, he is painfully aware of his failures, trying to learn from them and do better. This part of the movie was a surprise although it was to be expected considering his character. I did not know that his last chance would play out as it did and become such an active part of Annie’s story. It may be expected, but it plays in an organic way that never veers into Hallmark pat resolution. It is still messy and pleasing. Also kudos to the casting director for the decisions made in choosing inhabitants of his life. I won’t spoil it for you, but I loved it. After these reveals, it is easy for Tucker’s shine to dim to dangerously low levels, but Hawke is versatile and able to play flawed characters that most people would ignore the warning signs and be swept away by his charm.
Rose Byrne has a tricky job. By placing Annie in the middle of two distinct, strong men, Juliet, Naked could make her a supporting character in her own movie. Indeed she does feel more like someone inhabiting other people’s spaces than the dominant figure in her own space including in scenes with her sister, Ros. Annie is primarily a caretaker or a steward over other people’s lives, but Byrne and the filmmakers manage to carve out enough of a personality for the character that she does not seem like a pushover, just overlooked through no fault of her own. She definitely stands up for herself and has a strong voice, but I do think that she is emblematic of a certain phenomenon that women experience, even women with a certain level of expertise, knowledge and credibility. Our presence does not matter. To be seen requires a Herculean effort that generally threatens to make a woman unlikeable or dismissed in a different way. She isn’t that kind of a woman, which is why Tucker is special. He does notice her and wants to listen to her, which gives her an opportunity to listen to herself and ask what she wants out of life.
Would Tucker be as good a listener or treat her with respect and consideration if he had met her in the real world and not on the Internet? Maybe not, but we won’t know the answer to this question. Juliet, Naked has some flaws. The movie’s exhibit was the shortest showing. If you’re having a fight over dinner, don’t just leave the food! Take it with you! Wave over a waiter and get that food to go! No one ever charges their cell phone in movies, but they use them incessantly. I don’t think that you get released from a hospital that quickly. London is hella expensive. I hate when movies don’t consider financial logistics for character’s decisions. That isn’t a happy ending if roommates are involved!
Ultimately Juliet, Naked isn’t going to change any lives, but if you love Nick Hornsby’s books or film adaptations then you should definitely see it. I saw it at a matinee, but you wouldn’t be mad if you paid full price. Fans of Byrne, O’Dowd or Hawke should see it immediately. It is a lovely little film with some interesting intellectual undercurrents about the importance of creativity in our life that I found pleasing.