Jules

"You won't believe what just crashed into Milton's azaleas."

2023 1h 27m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 423

ComedyScience FictionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A flying saucer lands in the backyard of an elderly suburbanite with memory problems, who forms a bond with the scared alien inside.

“You won't believe what just crashed into Milton's azaleas.”

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Cast

Ben Kingsley
Milton Robinson
Harriet Sansom Harris
Sandy
Jane Curtin
Joyce
Jade Quon
Jules
Teddy Cañez
Mayor Martinez
Narea Kang
Councilwoman Wu
Edward James Hyland
Councilman Daniels
Blair Baker
Councilwoman Diane Strauss

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Marc Turtletaub
Writers: Gavin Steckler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Marc Turtletaub, shot by Christopher Norr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Volker Bertelmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ayelet Gil-Efrat shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Kingsley and Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You won't believe what just crashed into Milton's azaleas.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Marc Turtletaub directs. Christopher Norr behind the camera. Volker Bertelmann scores. Ayelet Gil-Efrat cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 3 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Marc Turtletaub, shot by Christopher Norr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Volker Bertelmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ayelet Gil-Efrat shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ben Kingsley and Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "You won't believe what just crashed into Milton's azaleas.".
9IMDB entry: tt15428940 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "dementia", "memory loss", "space shuttle", "extraterrestrial life form".

The technical file

Cinematography: Christopher Norr
Original score: Volker Bertelmann
Editing: Ayelet Gil-Efrat
Costume design: Stacy Jansen
Makeup / hair: Bert Reo Anderson
VFX supervisor: Grant Miller
Sound: Robert Fernandez
Stunt coordinator: Christopher Place
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $2,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Jules (2023)

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Marc Turtletaub

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2023-08-12
★ 6/10
Seniors often face painfully lonely times by themselves, frequently craving the companionship of virtually anyone who’ll keep them company, even if it’s just someone to listen to them and their stories. Such is the case with Milton Robinson (Ben Kingsley), a 78-year-old widower apparently in the early stages of Alzheimer’s who lives by himself in a small western Pennsylvania town. He has almost no one in his life except for his nagging daughter (Zoe Winters) and two elderly acquaintances (Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Curtin) who join him at weekly town council meetings. But that all changes with an unexpected event – the crash of a UFO into his backyard azaleas, an incident that unwittingly connects Milton with a seemingly sympathetic but non-speaking alien whom he and his cohorts lovingly name Jules (Jade Quon). This unusual partnership thus provides an unlikely outlet for Milton and company to share their thoughts about loneliness, aging, regrets and other highly personal subjects in frank, sweet and heartfelt (if a bit one-sided) conversations, with Jules serving as an impromptu interspecies sounding board, as it were. But can this relationship be kept secret, especially when Milton casually lets things slip that catch the attention of his fellow townsfolk and snooping government authorities? Director Marc Turtletaub’s latest presents a tender tale of what it’s like to be a senior in America as told from an unconventional standpoint, one full of warmth and sensitivity and peppered with elements of quirky humor and unexpected plot developments, all brought to life by its fine ensemble. However, with that said, the picture is also somewhat uneven in terms of writing, pacing and character development (including, somewhat ironically, that of the title character). While this engaging comedy-drama definitely has its heart in the right place, it nevertheless feels like it should have gone through another round of script revisions before being committed to celluloid. It often feels like it’s drawing upon themes found in “Cocoon” (1985) and “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” (1982), incorporating them into a story of its own, but it’s that third component that never quite feels complete or thoroughly thought through. That’s unfortunate, because, if the story and screenplay had been more fully developed, that would have made this a much better picture. I truly expect more from the producers who brought us “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) and “The Farewell” (2019), yet it’s a shame we didn’t get that this time around.

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