Jules is a 2023 American science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Marc Turtletaub and written by Gavin Steckler. It stars Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Zoë Winters, Jade Quon, and Jane Curtin. The film was theatrically released in North America (US, limited release in Canada) in August 2023, in Ireland and the UK on 29 December 2023, and in Germany on 1 February 2024.

Plot

Milton Robinson is a 79-year-old widower living on his own. He frequently attends city council meetings and receives help from his daughter. One day, a spaceship crash lands in his backyard flower garden and a blue humanoid alien crawls out of it. Milton attempts to get help by calling the police and his daughter, and informing the city council. However, all of those people believe Milton's claim is further proof of his senility. Milton treats the alien as a house guest and discovers the alien will only eat apples. Milton's acquaintance, Sandy, visits Milton and discovers the alien. Sandy tells Milton to not tell anyone about the alien. Joyce, another elderly woman, also discovers the alien. Sandy names the alien "Jules", but Joyce wants to call the alien "Gary" (after singer-songwriter Gary Jules). Jules begins repairing the spaceship but does not appear to be making quick progress. Milton's daughter, Denise, hears about her father's antics and schedules him for a mental evaluation, where Milton and Denise are told that Milton's faculties are quickly diminishing and that he should consider assisted living. This upsets Milton, and he angrily leaves. Sandy, who is attempting to start a program to connect with the town's young citizens, is burgled by a young man she invites to her house. After Sandy states that she will call the police, the man tackles and attempts to strangle her; however, Jules receives a vision of the events and telepathically causes the man's head to explode. This raises the suspicion of the NSA, since they are conducting an ongoing search for the crashed spaceship. Milton, Sandy, and Joyce realize that Jules needs seven dead cats to power the spaceship, so Milton and Sandy go out to find some, while Milton continues to be troubled by thoughts of his declining faculties. They are unknowingly followed by police, who observe their strange activities. Joyce decides to sacrifice her deaf and blind cat so they are able to repair the spaceship. Jules invites the three to travel in the spaceship. Milton considers accepting. He receives a phone call with his daughter and appears to be hesitant. However, when the NSA kicks down Milton's door, he, Sandy, and Joyce hurriedly escape in the UFO. Jules drops them off at another location on Earth and they part ways. Milton continues to deteriorate mentally and some time later, Jules visits Milton again.

Cast

Ben Kingsley as Milton Jane Curtin as Joyce Harriet Sansom Harris as Sandy Zoë Winters as Denise, Milton's daughter Jade Quon as Jules, the alien Andy Daly as Aaron Campbell

Production

Principal photography began in New Jersey on September 10, 2021. Filming was done in Boonton and Chatham. The film entered post-production in February 2022.

Release

The film premiered at the Sonoma International Film Festival on March 22, 2023. In April 2023, Bleecker Street acquired North American distribution rights to the film, setting it for a theatrical release on August 11, 2023. Jules was released for digital platforms on September 12, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on October 10, 2023.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 110 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Brought to life by an outstanding ensemble cast, Jules uses its cute concept to grapple with poignant, universally relatable themes." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

References

External links

Jules at IMDb