Movie Review: Blue Jasmine

I've only seen a few Woody Allen movies and have liked even fewer of them. To Rome with Love was just terrible, but Midnight in Paris is one of my favorite movies...so he is rather hit or miss in my opinion.  

The draw for Blue Jasmine was Cate Blanchett and then once it was nominated and won a load of awards (21 wins, including a Golden Globe for "best leading actress," and 36 other nominations) I was pretty much hooked into giving it a shot. I'm glad I did. 

Another character piece, Blue Jasmine is somewhat similar to August: Osage County, but with an international and San Francisco backdrop, centered around two adopted, non-biological sisters, Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) and Ginger (Sally Hawkins). It winds through their past and current relationship, which entails a penniless Jasmine moving in with Ginger. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about Jasmine's life with her husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin)...their houses, cars, lifestyle, business and travels...and how it turned out to be a giant sham. Basically destitute and now recovering from the subsequent nervous breakdown, Jasmine tries to pull her life back together. 
  
There are no heroes or heroines in this tale...only protagonists and antagonists (another similarity to August: Osage County). With an occasional altruistic moment, Jasmine's general narcissism is her predominant personality trait and reoccurring downfall.  Always on the look out for something better, Jasmine ends up hurting those around with her thoughtless comments and selfish actions, ultimately losing the only stable relationships in her life. For example, having been a leading New York socialite, Jasmine recalls to her sister the humiliation of having to sell shoes on 5th Avenue after Hal's financial demise, which is embarrassing for Ginger, since she is a single mother of two who "only" works as a cashier at a small local grocery store.

SPOILER-ish: I started off liking Ginger (Sally Hawkins), but ended up just feeling sorry for her in the end. She was accommodating and warm hearted for letting Jasmine move in with her, putting aside hurt feelings and forgiving Jasmine's haughty attitude. She ends up making numerous poor life decisions, including cheating on her boyfriend Chili (Bobby Cannavale) with Al (Louis C.K.), whom she met at a party Jasmine talked her into attending, which is where I went "Aw, come on. Don't be a cheater! You were the only nice person in this movie!"

I don't think I have ever described someone's performance as "inspired" before, but that's exactly what came to mind about Cate Blanchett as Jasmine. She plays cultured and snobby to perfection, as well as slightly unhinged. At the end of many of the flashbacks, Jasmine continues the conversation she'd been having (in the flashback) or is still pulled into the past, leaving her frequently talking to herself around other people. She panics and lies and manipulates like a champ. She's damaged and hurt and sometimes tries to do the right thing, but in almost all the wrong ways.

With a handful of profanity, Blue Jasmine is rated PG13 for mature thematic elements, language (including 2 f-bombs) and sexual content. Actually sketch is kept to a minimum, mostly limited to discussion/conversation. To read more about content, check out the PluggedIn review.

If you're a big Cate Blanchett or Woody Allen fan, I would definitely recommend taking the time to watch Blue Jasmine.

Enjoy and happy Tuesday!


~ Katie