Jules (Film Review)

Ben Kingsley is not an actor who traditionally makes “safe” choices when it comes to the roles he accepts. Gandhi, Don Logan in Sexy Beast, Trevor Slattery/The Mandarin in Iron Man 3. These are all roles that operate in the extreme, and there are countless others within his vast filmography that were risky propositions. As such, the idea of Kingsley playing a possibly senile old man who finds an alien in his garden is one that probably fulfils that same criteria. Unfortunately, in execution it was far more pedestrian than the possibilities offered on paper by the premise.

Jules follows the story of Milton, a widower with little purpose who spends his days attending local council meetings and concerning himself with minor issues. His daughter worries about his mental faculties, and the possibility of dementia. One evening an alien spaceship lands in his garden, and out crawls a creature, who he names Jules. The alien doesn't speak, but Milton treats them as a guest, and as he tries to help his new friend, concerns from his daughter among others about his mental health worsen. Eventually fellow elderly locals Sandy and Joyce stumble upon Milton's guest and the three of them try to help Jules get back home.

One of the major, positive takeaways from Jules, are the performances of Jane Curtin and Harriet Sansom Harris as Joyce and Sandy respectively. Curtin and Sansom Harris bring a warmth and levity to events that are sorely needed. Curtin is especially a highlight offering some fantastic comedic moments and a tremendous foil for her more mild-mannered counterparts in Kingsley and Sansom Harris. Kingsley is very convincing as the ageing and possibly declining Milton, although the character could have used further development as the story arc doesn't really take him on as satisfying a journey as perhaps it could have. Still, Kingsley does what he can with the material and is engaging and puts in a more than acceptable performance, if not an understated and less than “scene-stealing” one.

The aforementioned lack of development for Milton is one issue, but the lack of peril and urgency in the film is a much bigger problem. The introduction of “Jules” the alien is slow and steady, which in itself is not a bad thing, but the story doesn't really gather pace beyond that point. Aside from being able to defend the people around him using some undefined telekinesis, the audience never really finds out much about Jules rendering his existence largely confined to being a one-dimensional prop. Again, if the film was more eventful, this might not prove problematic but the glacial pace at which things unfold, and the lack of an antagonist beyond the NSA, who are not involved for a large portion of the movie, makes it more difficult to ever really invest in the predicament facing Jules.

Jules has it's moments, and the chemistry between the three main leads is a big part of that. The notion of getting old is something everyone can relate to, and the ambiguity at parts as to whether Jules is some sort of collective senility dream cooked up by the trio, or even just Milton or it's a heart-warming fish-out-of-water tale of three people coming together for a common good, keeps things ticking over. However, it is absolutely a film that could do with more inciting events and a greater sense of suspense to really give the notion of a friendly alien invasion a bit more jeopardy. That said, it was not an unenjoyable watch, and is worth viewing for Curtin's brilliant performance alone.

Signature Entertainment presents Jules in Cinemas and Digital Platforms 29th December