DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
CAST: Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tammy Blanchard, Max Casella, Alden Ehrenreich
RUNNING TIME: 98 mins
CERTIFICATE: 12A
BASICALLY…: After her marriage to a financial crook (Baldwin) takes its toll, a wealthy and clueless Manhattan socialite (Blanchett) moves in with her younger adopted sister (Hawkins) in a San Francisco apartment…
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NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
Every once in a while, Woody Allen makes a film that is tonally hard to watch at times but is just so fascinating in its characters and story arcs that you can’t really look away from the screen. Blue Jasmine is his latest example, a hard-hitting character study that, like its lead character, fires from all cylinders while never softening the blow or apologising for its actions.
Unlike most of his films, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious Woody Allen surrogate at first glance. The definition for such a thing is of an actor to be cast in a film directed by Allen but acts it – or is told to act with certain neutrotic mannerisms akin to the director. You’ll notice it a lot in many of his other films, and the actors range from Kenneth Branagh, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg and sometimes even Allen himself. But here, there doesn’t seem to be a persona you can identify immediately as an Allen surrogate – the closest out of everyone is probably a tie between Louis C.K.’s sweet and charming lover and Michael Stuhlbarg’s creepy dentist that’s a sexual harassment case waiting to happen. Aside from those two, the cast is made up of actual characters that Allen has been known to create, and it’s a good thing because that way the focus can be on these people and the situations they get themselves into instead of just seeing the world through the eyes of a quirky and/or neurotic man or woman.
It also works to the film’s advantage because these are some very well-constructed characters that range from complex to extremely engaging, played by actors who bring such wonder and life to them. But vitally, none of them are gagging for your emotional support. They are all flawed, sometimes to an extreme. Sally Hawkins is a divorced mother who allows her sister of the title to stay in her small San Francisco apartment, but she’s spineless; constantly going after men who are probably all wrong for her (including Bobby Cannavale as an auto-mechanic prone to strong anger outbursts, Andrew Dice Clay as her hot-headed ex-husband who we are told was abusive to her but never see any real friction in their relationship in flashbacks, and even dear Louis C.K. has a heart-breaking but despicable reveal at one point) and letting them effectively walk all over her without really sticking up for herself. Alec Baldwin is an adulterous crook, and he plays one in the movie too (hehehe, but seriously please don’t sue Mr. Baldwin), while Peter Sarsgaard is probably the only main character with the most sound mind and makes a decision near the end of the film that you’re actually thankful for since it’s some of the most forward thinking you’ll find from a main character here.
Of course, though, where Blue Jasmine really, truly shines is with Jasmine herself, Cate Blanchett. It is, and always has been, her show and she carries the movie with an exceptional performance that really needs to be seen to be believed. A former socialite clearly on her way to a massive mental breakdown, her bitterness and cold-hearted nature rubs off onto everyone she come across, and it results in a domino effect of characters’ true colours showing. Perhaps placing herself on a diet of martinis and pills doesn’t help her fragile psyche, which is sampled through book-ending scenes (and other scenes throughout) of her simply rambling on to herself while others awkwardly look on. Like the rest of the characters and perhaps more so, she is very difficult to root for and Blanchett does an unbelievably good job at getting across her pathetic nature in manners that neither seem forced or over-the-top. As we find out in a late scene between her and step-son Alden Ehrenreich, she planted the seeds of every bad thing that happens to her and cheating husband Baldwin, who ends up hanging himself in prison. By the end, the flowers have well and truly grown and Blanchett, without a hope in the world, lingers on to what little she has left of her sanity, and to watch her reduced to this state is absolutely heart-breaking and makes for one of the strongest movies of Allen’s most recent line of work.
SO, TO SUM UP…
Blue Jasmine works to extraordinary levels, both through Woody Allen’s impeccable writing and direction and a stunning cast ensemble, led by a career-best Cate Blanchett. A must-see for any lovers of character drama.
