Til­da Swin­ton gives the per­for­mance of a life­time as Ju­lia, a mid­dle-​aged al­co­holic who tot­ters around night­clubs on six-​inch heels, and gets by on nick­el-​and-​dime jobs sand­wiched be­tween shots of vod­ka and one-​night stands. Ju­lia is ma­nip­u­la­tive, un­re­li­able and a com­pul­sive liar, and when an op­por­tu­ni­ty pre­sents it­self to make a sub­stan­tial amount of mon­ey, she jumps at the chance and com­mits a des­per­ate act. As the reper­cus­sions spi­ral be­yond her con­trol, she is forced to make a choice be­tween sac­ri­fice and re­demp­tion.