Judy Berlin Review
By Joe Lozito
Suburban Decay
Filmed before her award-winning turn on HBO's "The Sopranos", Edie Falco gives an exuberantly lively performance as the title character in "Judy Berlin", writer-director Eric Mendelsohn's dark portrait of dashed dreams on Long Island. Ms. Falco's character is the one person in the film actually attempting to make a positive life change. By setting the film on the day of Judy's departure for "the coast" to pursue an acting career, Mr. Mendelsohn is able to explore how Judy's plan to realize her dreams affects those around her.
Judy Berlin" plays like a poor-man's "Magnolia", complete with a supernatural phenomenon to bring it's many characters together. Mr. Mendelsohn clearly has a love for the Long Island sounds and sights, and he elicits fine performances from a cast of well-known character actors. Too often, however, the film meanders on its tangents.
The film is constantly redeemed, however, by Ms. Falco's performance and that of Madeline Kahn - whose final performance is easily her best. Alternatively gravely serious and flippantly flighty, her Alice Gold is a pitch perfect portrait of a young, vital woman waking up to find herself firmly in middle age. Her performance is all the more heartbreaking because it is her last. She gives a glimpse here of the serious actress that she would no doubt have become. In keeping with the film, this is one more unrealized hope.
