Betty Beaird

Julia, 40, is an alcoholic. She is a manipulative, unreliable, compulsive liar, all strung out beneath her still flamboyant exterior. Between shots of vodka and one-night stands, Julia gets by on nickel-and-dime jobs. Increasingly lonely, the only consideration she receives comes from her friend Mitch, who tries to help her. But she shrugs him off, as her alcohol-induced confusion daily reinforces her sense that life has dealt her a losing hand and that she is not to blame for the mess she has made of it. Glimpsing imminent perdition, and after a chance encounter with Elena, a Mexican woman, Julia convinces herself, as much in panic and despair as for financial gain, to commit a violent act. As the story unfolds, Julia's journey becomes a headlong flight on a collision course, but somehow she makes the choice of life over death.

A clip from Julia which will play at the 2010 San Francisco Film Festival. From the maker of 1998 s highly acclaimed The Dreamlife of Angels comes this character-driven thriller, powered by an unforgettable performance from ever-daring Tilda Swinton, barreling straight into a sleazy wasteland as an abrasive alcoholic kidnapper in way over her head.