ReelBob: ‘Juliet, Naked’ ★★★★½

By Bob Bloom

“Juliet, Naked” is about many things: the illusion and obsession about fame and celebrity, the regrets of choices, the fear of abandoning your comfort zone and the mistakes of simply settling.

But most of all, the movie, based on a novel by Nick Hornby (“About a Boy”), is about following your heart — even if it leads you down unfamiliar paths.

Rose Byrne stars as Annie, a middle-aged woman in a small English town who runs the local museum, a job she took over from her late father.

Annie is in a long-term relationship with Duncan (Chris O’Dowd), who teaches cinema at a local community college.

Duncan is obsessed with an obscure American rocker, Tucker Crowe. He hosts an online blog about Crowe and has all kinds of memorabilia and minutiae about the singer plastered on the walls of his office-den.

Annie and Duncan have fallen into a routine of domesticity, and it is obvious that the passion of their relationship is melting. They may live together, but their lives are separate.

The bond between the couple grows more tenuous after Annie opens a package for Duncan that contains the acoustic demo of Crowe’s hit record, “Juliet,” from 25 years earlier and listens to it.

After being berated by Duncan, Annie posts a critical review of the work on Duncan’s site.

She receives a response from a surprising source — Crowe himself.

It turns out everything — including the rumors, sightings and activities — that Duncan has been posting on his blog are inaccurate.

Annie and Crowe form a connection through their texts, opening up to each other about their lives.

Crowe, a wonderful portrayal by Ethan Hawke, has been living in the garage of one of his ex-wives, so he can be near and help raise his young son, Jackson.

As we soon learn, Crowe has many children by many different women, and, as a father, he is rather inadequate.

Most of his children, who range in age from adult to Jackson, have never met nor know the others exist.

Yet, despite all his flaws, Crowe, as personified by Hawke, is a warm and charming person. He is very aware of his shortcomings, sharing a text with Annie, that he is “sick about what I have lost” for not connecting with his children.

Crowe buries his disappointments under a guise of affability and humor.

Circumstances bring him to England, where he and Annie finally meet.

Both yearn for an honest emotional connection, with Crowe telling her that he “screwed up the first half of my life” and wants to make amends to his extended family — and himself.

“Juliet, Naked” is an embraceable movie about second chances. It’s driven by the performances of Byrne, Hawke and O’Dowd, whose reaction to first meeting his idol is priceless.

The feature is more than a rom-com. Yes, it succeeds as both a romance and a comedy, but it also touches on the pitfalls not only of celebrity, but of fan idolatry.

The interaction between Hawke and O’Dowd during a dinner is one of the highlights of the movie and serves as a warning about high expectations.

Byrne is delightful as she gradually edges away from her self-imposed conformity and redirects her priorities.

Basically, “Juliet, Naked” is about two souls who realize they have lost their way, only desire to start over.

It is sweet and emotionally honest. It also makes you smile. What more do you need?

I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

JULIET, NAKED 4½ stars out of 5 (R), language, sexual references

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2czkG30Ywc