The Wizard of Oz is a timeless favorite, and its lead actress, Judy Garland, is a celebrated legend.

However, the new movie Judy depicts what Garland’s life was really like as a tightly controlled childhood movie star, and how that control impacted her tumultuous life, particularly the last few months of her life before her death in 1969.

Judy is based on the musical drama End of the Rainbow, by Peter Quilter.

Garland is played by Renee Zellweger, who transforms herself physically to achieve a very believable Judy Garland. It is not a caricature of Garland, but a thoughtful portrayal of her many emotions, contradictions and heartaches.

In the last few months of the fading star’s life, she struggles with sleeping pills and alcohol addiction, custody battles over her two children with ex-husband Sidney Luft (Rufus Sewel), and a fan base that has grown weary of her private and public drama.

When Garland decides to stay in London, preparing for her five-week run of shows, she hopes that her act will allow her to make money to prove that she can take care of her children. She also hopes the act will help her maintain her star profile, especially since it seems as though bad press has been following her.

Though her stay in London is meant to be a fresh start for her, Garland is continually plagued by many of the struggles that have followed her throughout her life: drug addiction, strained relationships with men, and even a possible eating disorder.

The film offers a sad insight into how brutal Hollywood actually can be toward its stars. It shows how though everything might seem perfect on stage and screen, true suffering existed for one of America’s most beloved stars.