At this point in his life and career, the 77-year-old director probably won’t have another truly great film like “Annie Hall,” “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. 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, and his direction, as always, is minimal but effective, letting the actors and the emotions speak for themselves in each scene.
Broad talent and range
“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 is 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.
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. She’s taking pills, has violent mood swings and there are a couple of instances where she’s seen talking to herself.
The reason why she’s so nasty to her sister is because she’s trying to find some way to cope with her situation. She’s resentful that she needs 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 on-line 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, but it 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 situations 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.
A change of pace
General audiences may not react as strongly to “Blue Jasmine” as they did to “Midnight in Paris.” The movie is not light comedy, but instead a drama with some humor thrown in. And the ending is not happy, which may turn a lot of people off. Furthermore, audiences may find Jasmine too deplorable to get behind. 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 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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