Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Blanche

I saw Blue Jasmine over the weekend, the semi-new Woody Allen movie with Cate Blanchett. It’s the first Woody Allen movie I’ve seen in a long time. Aside from Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which I watched on a plane, I haven’t seen any of his movies since 1994.

The movie owes a lot to A Streetcar Named Desire, but knowing that isn’t crucial. Having read/seen Streetcar might enrich your viewing, but not having seen it shouldn’t bother anyone. 

Anyway, after seeing the movie, which even my husband liked, I googled some reviews to see what critics thought. I saw this roundtable review, in which one of the critics says that Blanchett’s character Jasmine (née Jeanette) has no redeeming qualities.

Wow, I thought. NO redeeming qualities. Was it really true? Did I feel better about my husband’s disliking her now that a reviewer confirmed she was a worthless person? Sort of. Still, I would like to point out that 1) she’s gorgeous, and 2) she has great taste in clothes. Last I heard, those were qualities worth having, as selfish and delusional as one might be. 

3 comments:

Jeff said...

Saw Blue Jasmine when it had been first released - and was highly disappointed. I've come to expect different things from Woody Allen - and have learned not to always expect Annie Hall type experiences. Wasn't impressed with this one - and I had been prepared by the reviews especially the comments as to the film's allusion to Ruth Madoff.
Last of his films I was impressed with was Midnight in Paris. Enough to see it several times. worth a watch - if you're so inclined... - J.

SarahJane said...

I had the impression many of his recent (i.e. last two decades) have been kind of light-hearted romantic comedies. Is Midnight in Paris with whatshisname Owen? I have a slight aversion to him...

Jeff said...

Yep - Owen Wilson who channels Woody Allen perfectly. The film is worth it for the sequences when Owen/Woody travels back to 1920's Paris and meets many of the literary and artist characters of the time. Corey Stoll plays a fabulous Hemingway and Adrian Brody an idosyncratic and hystericlly funny Salvador Dali. There are others - Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Luis Bunuel, both of the Fitzgeralds, etc. All done beautifully entertaining. I'd say it was one of his best - at least of the Woody Allen that I like...

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