March 8 - Julie & Julia (2009), 123 minutes, directed by Nora Ephron, starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Stanley Tucci.
Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is a young Manhattanite looking to shake up her life. She decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s mammoth Mastering the Art of French Cooking while blogging about it. Julie & Julia artfully cuts between present day and flashbacks, and from Powell to Child, who is seen developing the skills that would turn her into an internationally renowned chef. Meryl Streep picked up her umpteenth Oscar nomination for her exuberant performance as Child, and the whole of Nora Ephron’s film appears steeped in Child’s unique joie de vivre. Warning: Do not come to Julie & Julia hungry.
March 2024 CinemaLit - Women Screenwriter-Directors on Women’s Lives
March at CinemaLit features a series of five startlingly fresh and visionary films written and directed by women. Each focuses on women’s lives with an emphasis on displacement, both geographic and emotional. In an industry dominated by finding the next billion dollar franchise and breakthrough computer technology, these films offer other ways of appreciating the expanding potential of motion picture story and content. Join us for Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993), Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia (2009), Lulu Wang’s The Farewell (2018), Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland (2020), and Sarah Polley’s Women Talking (2022).
March is Women's History Month and Mechanics' Institute is proud to feature works of cinematic importance, vision, and gravity by Women Screenwriters and Directors.
Matthew Kennedy, CinemaLit’s curator, has written biographies of Marie Dressler, Joan Blondell, and Edmund Goulding. His book Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, was the basis of a film series on Turner Classic Movies. His most recent book, On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide, examines the screen legend's entire career.
“I don't have a favorite film,” Matthew says. "I find that my relationships to films, actors, genres, and directors change as I change over the years. Some don't hold up. Some look more profound, as though I've caught up with their artistry. I feel that way about Garbo, Cary Grant, director John Cassavetes, and others."
“Classic films have historical context, something only time can provide,” Matt observes. “They become these great cultural artifacts, so revealing of tastes, attitudes, and assumptions.”
Mechanics' Institute Members Free
Non-Members $10
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Please note: Photos and/or video may be taken during this event.
CinemaLit Films
