Movie Stats:
Released 2013 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Woody Allen
Stars - Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Bobby Cannavale
Plot Summary:
After her life falls apart, wealthy socialite Jasmine (Blanchett) tries to adjust to living in a lower financial caste. Hawkins co-stars as Jasmine’s lower-class sister, Ginger, and Cannavale as Ginger’s boyfriend, Chili.
Warnings:
Blue language; attempted sexual assault; violence; implied sexy times.
Bad Stuff:
All these San Franciscans sure talk and sound an awful lot like New Yorkers. You can definitely tell that Woody Allen wrote this script.
Normally I’m a fan of open endings but I found this one unsatisfactory.
Some of the conversations are a bit repetitive. While it’s true-to-life, in film it gets tiresome.
Good Stuff:
I really liked the topic, and it’s not one that we see portrayed often in film: how difficult it can be to “come down” in circumstances. That’s actually something that’s been on my mind since so many people committed suicide during the real estate crash 10 years ago.
It does a good job of putting many of its characters (specifically Jasmine and Chili, but also Augie, Ginger’s ex-husband, played by Andrew Dice Clay*) on the thin edge of likability. For example, while I didn’t particularly care for Jasmine, I admired that she actually tried to get her life back together, instead of just relying on her sister’s kindness.
Loved the soundtrack.
About the Performance:
Blanchett is fantastic. Jasmine really isn’t very likable. She’s cold and snobbish and basically useless. However, she is relatable. Most of us have hit a point in our lives when we simply find it difficult to cope. Blanchett takes that small piece of what we can relate to and runs with it. As much as Jasmine exasperates you, you can’t help but to root for her. Blanchett earned a well-deserved Oscar for this. Also, I want to note that while I spent the whole film thinking that Hawkins’s American accent was shaky at best, I didn’t even notice that Blanchett was doing an accent until I looked her up & was reminded that she’s Australian.
Other performances of Blanchett’s I’ve reviewed: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
The Verdict:
I have to admit, once I realized this was an Allen film, I was very skeptical. I loathe his “schtick” and tend to find his films exhausting. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I think it helps that Allen himself isn’t in it. Also, that it’s short. If it had gone on any longer, I might have gotten annoyed. It’s an interesting topic, portrayed in a sensitive manner, elevated by Blanchett’s performance. It’s not a film I would watch repeatedly, but I think it’s really solid.
I give it 4 stars.
*I didn’t recognize him at all. When I was writing this review, I was floored to discover he played Augie.
2 comments:
This is my problem with Woody Allen. About every fourth film or so, he makes something that blows me away and is totally worth seeing. I've sworn him off multiple times, and I skip all those so-so movies, but when one like this comes along, I see it.
I thought everyone was tremendous in this film. And Cate Blanchett is a reliable good-to-incredible performance for me. She has the ability to take my breath away starting with the first time I remember seeing her in the film Elizabeth. The film ended, and I realized I was so caught up I had forgotten to breathe.
But how do you know which ones are the gems amongst the turds? I guess one has to wait a while for all the reviews to come out and base it on that. I've heard good things about Midnight in Paris but I have that "fool me once" sort of feeling about Woody Allen films so I've never bit the bullet & watched it.
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