REVIEW: Blue Jasmine

Best Original Screenplay Nominee

8/10 - Way better than expected. 

This review was a long time coming. It was one of the first Oscar nominated movies that I watched, but I've been stewing on how to phrase my review for a long time.

First and foremost, I've never liked Woody Allen movies. I typically don't relate to that slow, cerebral uncertainty that fuels his many dozens of movies. After 2-3 that did it, I stopped watching his movies. Maybe I judged his body of work prematurely, because this was quite a great movie, but I'm still not particularly interested in watching more of his movies.

The other reason to preface this review would be because of the controversy that has surrounded Woody Allen during this years award season. I'm not interested in dancing with the veil that the morals of the individual should have some reflection in how we perceive their work. I found myself quite frustrated with the fact that over and over again Cate Blanchett would get on stage, having won awards for this movie, and praise the great female roles that were being written, and over and over again she would be overshadowed by media coverage of a 20 year old scandal.

So. Having said that. Blue Jasmine is a movie about a rich woman going poor. That's too simplistic of a definition for a movie this complicated, but there it is. Under the surface layer, this film is about a woman who has protected herself in layers of narcissism, and her need to rebuild relationships. There are some terrific performances supporting the infallible Cate; Alec Baldwin, Louis C. K., Sally Hawkins, and Bobby Cannavale. It's a stunning cast that scrambles around Jasmine as her world unravels. This movie is not just about social class, but it's about empathy and understanding of individuals for whatever position they are in. It's of the typical Woody storytelling, with lots of talking and big characters. This movie explores fantasy and reality, what is selfish and what is selfless. It's quite engaging and interesting, if not a bit dull at times. I had a hard time understanding what was happening to the characters, but some of that was probably intentional.

Although Blue Jasmine was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, it strikes me as a Best Picture nominee. This is a filmmakers story, not on the page but in the eye. The Academy Awards recognized this work with the Best Actress statue going to Blanchett. I'm of the opinion that this award belongs to Allen. This was the best female character written, this was the best female driven film this year.

IMDb - Blue Jasmine (7.4)
Wikipedia - Blue Jasmine
Rotten Tomatoes- Blue Jasmine (91%)
Amazon.ca - Blue Jasmine