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Jules (2023)
Gideon recommended this film several days ago, which compelled me to look it up for a watch. It’s been quite a little while since I’ve been so charmed by a movie! The picture stars the great Ben Kingsley, the veteran Harriet Samson Harris, and Jane Curtain.
Milton (Kingsley) is an old widower who lives alone in a nice vintage home in an old suburban New Jersey area. He’s content with his solitude, but does frequently find things that he feels need done in his town, of which he routinely brings up in the public comment portion of the city council meetings. He tends to harp on the same issues, and the council accepts him as a well meaning but slightly kooky 79 year old. Similarly Sandy (Harris), an old lady who uses a more sugary approach, typically brings up projects that would benefit the community.
One night Milton is awakened by the sound of an object crashing into his back yard azalea patch. He shrugs it off, but the next day he is shocked to see that a medium sized flying saucer has crashed partly imbedded in the ground. Still later he discovers a small alien who had crawled out of the wreck and is laying unconscious on the ground. He immediately calls the authorities to report the incident, but he is brushed off as a delusional senior. He likewise mentions it at a city council meeting, but they too believe he’s just being senile. Meanwhile Milton takes the small alien into his home and feeds it with water and apples. The alien recovers and is content to perch on the couch, never uttering a sound.
Along the way Milton meets Sandy, who offers to drive him home from a meeting. Milton invites her in to his house, where Sandy is utterly shocked to see the strange small human-like alien sitting there. Sandy is gradually taken into confidence, and she too accepts the situation and starts to fuss over the alien. Another citizen, Joyce (Curtain), noses around, and is eventually brought into their tight circle, where they aim to keep the ship and alien a secret.
That forms the basis for the rest of the story. There are a couple of close calls with a government agency as with Milton’s overly protective daughter, while the suspense and twists keep us glued to the action up to its satisfying if slightly mystifying end.
Kingsley shows in spades why he is one of the very elite actors of the 20th/21st Centuries. His manor, his mid American accent, his expressions make one feel like they’re watching the real guy in life. One would hope he’s considered at awards time. So too does Harris wow us with her personality and technique. I haven’t previously seen much of her career (she’s done much stage work), but I’ll certainly be looking for her in future. Curtain’s character’s writing was a little hit and miss, but she too brings in her role in a journeyman’s fashion.
Sci-Fi comedy is one of the trickiest style of movies to be convincing. They tend to be either too goofy or painfully unrealistic. Jules checks all the boxes. If one wants to see how that’s done, this picture is on the very top of the heap to experience.
Doc’s rating: 10/10
So glad you enjoyed this movie as much as I did and yes, I would love to see Kingsley get some award love for it, Harris as well.
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