I watched director Nora Ephron’s comedy-drama Julie and Julia the other day. A couple of scenes stick in my mind.
Julie Powell, 30, from Queens, is working her way through the 524 recipes in American chef Julia Child’s first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and writing up the experience as she goes in a blog.
Julia Child is played by Meryl Streep; Julie, by Amy Adams.
The film switches back and forth between Julia Child’s life 40 years before, when she was starting out in cooking, and had yet to get the book published; and Julie Powell’s life in 2002, as she works her way through what was to become a seminal cookbook which introduced Americans to French cooking.
Novice cook Julie has set herself the target of getting through Julia’s book in one year - much to the dismay of her long-suffering husband (Chris Messina).
After her blog gets a publicity boost as a result of a write-up in the New York Times, a journalist asks cooking doyen Julia Child, whose own recipes inspired the blog, what she thinks of it.
Julia Child dismisses the blog as a stunt.
Poor Julie Powell is still struggling to get through the cookbook. She has attained a measure of success as a result of the blog, but is shattered nonetheless.
Her husband Eric is supportive, as depicted in a wonderful moment which can only have come from the pen of a woman writer (I doubt her real-life husband actually said anything so sympathetic):
‘Don’t worry about it. The Julia you know is the one in your head. If she’s not the same as the one in real life, that’s not important.’
How sweet is that?
Back to Julia Child: In 1961, Julia’s book was published by Alfred A Knopf, after Houghton Mifflin earlier rejected it.
Her husband Paul, played by Stanley Tucci, is another supportive partner who understands his wife well.
After Houghton Mifflin rejects Julia’s manuscript, Paul Child doesn’t try to dismiss, or make light of his wife’s concerns, as many a man, eager for a quiet life, might be inclined to do.
‘F- them!’ he says.
Again, how sweet is that?
Julie and Julia is a woman’s film. It shows us how women feel and think about the world, and what men can do to support them.
The film depicts several other such scenes where Paul or Eric rise to the occasion. These husbands genuinely help and support their wives, contrary to the popular misconception perhaps where men hold back (if they are interested at all) and do not bother expressing themselves.
I call these 'Julia moments'.
Julia Child went on to become a television chef. Her home in Massachusetts served as the set for three of her TV series.
In one of the closing scenes, Julia Powell visits Julia Child's kitchen, as it is preserved today at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
'I love you, Julia,' she says before the woman's portrait.
After watching the movie, and reflecting on its message, I asked myself how well I understand my own partner. Can I see the world through his eyes?
I’ll bring you the answer soon.
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