I’m a Woody Allen optimist. Like Quentin Tarantino or
Christopher Nolan or Darren Aronofsky, I eagerly await the next Woody Allen
picture and even if it’s not all that great or memorable (which has been the
case with most of his work of late) I still eagerly await the next film hoping
that it will be better. Now, yes I think at this point in his life and career
the 77-year-old director probably won’t have another truly great film like
“Annie Hall” or “Hannah and Her Sisters” or “Manhattan” but that doesn’t mean
he’s now incapable of making a near great film or at least a good one.
Since 1982 Allen has been writing and directing a film a year,
which is a good thing and a bit of a bad thing. It’s good because it shows how
much he loves making movies. He doesn’t make them because they’re going to earn
large amounts at the box office, he does it for himself. It’s a bad thing because
such a short time frame doesn’t give Allen a lot of time to work on his scripts
and as a result most of them end up being thin and forgettable. But that
doesn’t faze Allen; unlike a lot of great directors he doesn’t feel the need to
top himself with every movie. He’ll come up with an idea and go with it and if
the movie doesn’t make much of a splash it’s OK, he’ll try again next time. And
for every one or two forgettable movies he makes there’s usually one that’s
worth talking about.
After two forgettable romps, in 2009 (“Whatever Works”) and
2010 (“You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger”), Allen achieved massive success
(both critically and box office) with “Midnight In Paris,” a delightful little
movie that was part fantasy, part romance and more importantly his love letter
to Paris. Then in 2012 he made “To Rome With Love” and we were back to paper
thin, forgettable Woody. But now, with his latest “Blue Jasmine” Allen is back
to form and while it isn’t entirely successful it comes awfully close.
First and foremost it
should be said that “Blue Jasmine” is a serious movie. So for those of you who
just loved the pleasant and funny “Midnight in Paris,” be warned that this new
movie is nothing like it. It’s character driven for sure, but more importantly
it’s mostly a tragedy. It’s about a woman’s gradual decline into mental illness
and delusion. It has perhaps one of the darkest, saddest endings I’ve ever seen
in an Allen film.
At the same time however, that doesn’t mean the movie is
completely humorless and cold. There is plenty of humor (through dialogue) but
it comes as a result of the serious drama unfolding on screen and this makes
the movie very watchable. Allen’s screenplay crackles with energy and hot
emotions, his direction like always is minimal but effective, letting the
actors and the emotions speak for themselves in each scene.
“Blue Jasmine” is about Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), a woman
who--after enjoying a life of wealth and security while being married to a
real-estate investor named Hal (Alec Baldwin)—suffers a midlife crisis. As it turns
out Hal was into some shady dealings and through circumstances explored
throughout the film Jasmine loses it all. She’s forced to move in with her
sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins), who works in a grocery store and lives in a
cramped apartment with two kids in San Francisco. It’s a big adjustment for
Jasmine and to say that she’s a mess is an understatement. At first she comes
off neurotic, uptight, bitter and kind of a spoiled brat. When she isn’t
outright mean to Ginger--telling her that she’ll never achieve anything better
than what she has now and criticizing the working class stiffs she dates or has
dated in the past --she’s putting on a false grateful act while further
degrading Ginger under her breath. In other words she‘s not exactly likeable
and you’re ready to detest her for the rest of the movie. But as the film goes
on and you learn more about how her life of decadence came crumbing down
(through flashbacks) you see that there is something mentally wrong with
Jasmine. This crisis has knocked a screw loose in her head. She’s taking pills,
has violent mood swings and there are a couple of instances where she’s seen
talking to herself. This is where most of the humor comes from; she’s so
pathetic at times that you can’t help but laugh.
So you begin to feel sorry for her. The reason why she’s so
nasty to her sister is because she’s trying to find some way to cope with her
crappy situation. She’s resentful that she has to go to her sister for help.
And, despite all of her unpleasantness she does try to put her life back
together. She gets a menial secretary job and takes a computer class so she can
get an online degree in Interior Decorating. She meets another wealthy man
named Dwight (Peter Sarsgaard) and the two sisters do share a few pleasant
moments together. But at the same time it’s not like her condition just
magically goes away--like it would in a more conventional Hollywood movie--and
it gets progressively worse as the movie goes on.
It’s a fascinating character brought fully to life by
Blanchett. Her performance is one of tremendous highs and tremendous lows
(that’s a positive thing), one minute she’s petty and nasty, the next she’s a
babbling mess, then she’s confident and ready to get back on her feet and then
she’s back to being petty and nasty. It’s a performance that highlights
Blanchett’s immense range and talent. She’s the main reason why the character
works and why you remain so invested in the film. If there’s anything in “Blue
Jasmine” that’s going to be talked about (especially as we get closer to awards
season) it’s Blanchett’s performance.
Jasmine is the center of the picture and so everything else
sort of revolves around her, which is fine, but it also doesn’t allow for
additional characters to fully blossom, particularly Ginger. Amidst all the
trouble involving Jasmine, Ginger is having her own troubles. The two sisters
are adopted and we learn that Jasmine was favored over Ginger by their parents.
Ginger’s never had a lot of luck with money and men and the one opportunity she
had to do something more with her life financially she got screwed over by Hal
and his shady dealings. At only 98 minutes and with Jasmine being the center
focus there just isn’t enough time to really develop Ginger’s character and as
a result the stuff she goes through --involving her current relationship with a
loudmouth mechanic Chili (Bobby Cannavale) and her fling with another man
played by Louis C.K—feels trivial in relation to Jasmine’s story.
I’m not sure general audiences will react as strongly to
“Blue Jasmine” as they did to “Midnight in Paris.” The movie is not light
comedy but instead drama with some humor thrown in. And the ending is not happy
which I realize will turn a lot of people off. Furthermore, audiences may find
Jasmine too deplorable to get behind and that’s perfectly fine. But it’s these
aspects that give “Blue Jasmine” a strong sense of authenticity. There aren’t
always happy endings in life, people aren’t always sweet and likable and
furthermore people don’t always learn their lesson and change their life for
the better. Sometimes—as in the case of Jasmine—they just get worse and worse. Allen’s
unpredictability—going from such a light and fantastical film like “Midnight in
Paris” to such a heavy and tragic film like this one—is the main reason why I
still eagerly anticipate his next picture.
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