Review: Jules

By John Corrado

★★½ (out of 4)

Ben Kingsley stars in the film Jules as Milton Robinson, an aging eccentric who befriends an alien that crash lands in his backyard, and invites the humanoid creature into his home out of loneliness and isolation.

This results in an odd but mostly weirdly endearing little film that blends elements of quirky comedy and low-key character drama, and just so happens to have a very visible alien presence at the centre of it. Yes, Jules plays around in a vaguely sci-fi sandbox, but this new film from director Marc Turtletaub (Puzzle) has a very laid-back way of going about it.

This is evident in the way that Milton, who lives in the sleepy small town of Boonton, Pennsylvania and has his routine of going to the weekly city council meetings and always sharing the exact same complaints (he would like the town motto’s to be changed, and wants a new crosswalk), casually responds to the silver spaceship crashing in his backyard; he is more concerned that the flying saucer has “crushed his azaleas.”

Milton’s daughter Denise (Zoe Winters) is worried that her father is getting forgetful, and in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, so his sudden talk of an alien visitor certainly doesn’t help. But Milton finds a much needed companion in this little grey spaceman who doesn’t speak, and seemingly communicates through his intense but understanding stare (it’s not even inherently evident that the alien is male, as the creature is naked and has no outside genitalia, but Milton assumes).

The screenplay by Gavin Steckler, a TV writer making his feature debut, makes it clear that this is partially meant to be an allegorical story about making meaningful connections and rediscovering what is important in life, more so than it is a straight up science fiction tale. The alien visitor brings Milton closer to two old ladies, fellow lonely eccentric Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and the nosy neighbour Joyce (Jane Curtain), who take an interest in him at the town council meetings; it is Sandy who assigns the name Jules to the alien.

The film is elevated every step of the way by Kingsley, who is very good as an elderly eccentric grappling with his inevitable loss of memory. It’s clear that Kingsley has put a lot of thought into the character’s mannerisms and cadences of speech, and he grounds Jules in a necessary way. Harris finds sympathy in her portrayal of Sandy, while Curtain brings more nuance to what could have been the cranky old lady role, and watching them all form a playful bond with Kingsley’s character around the titular alien is the most enjoyable aspect of the film. Jules is played by stunt performer Jade Quan in a fascinating physical performance.

That said, not every element of Jules works equally well, and the mostly sunny demeanour that Turtletaub brings to the film means that the darker and more twisted elements can feel a bit jarring, including one plot point in particular that leaves a sour taste. This is an eternally odd little movie, but one that is charming enough of the time to work despite a few slight missteps and less-formed ideas, bolstered by Kingsley’s very good performance.