Blue Jasmine Review
Rich socialite Jasmine arrives at her sister Ginger’s house
in New York after her life hits rock bottom. In need of a place to stay she is
forced to live a much more simple life, and struggles with her loss of her
identity as well as her mental state of depression and anxiety. As she regains
her personality, she realises that there is more to life than money and social
status.
Woody Allen’s 45th feature Blue Jasmine is a
welcomed change of pace for the established American director, a performance
driven drama revolving around the tough subjects of depression and anxiety. When
the upper class, elegant socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchette) loses her fortune
to her criminal husband she is forced to stay with her sister (Sally Hawkins)
in New York. With her life in tatters she must cope with losing her rich
husband (Alec Baldwin) to prison as well as her money driven care free
lifestyle while at the same time helping to solve her sister’s problems. Allen’s
script is a masterclass in dark humour, combining the raw emotional intensity
of Jasmine’s depression with her amusing higher than thou attitude and longing
to carry on living the life of luxury she once had. Jasmine is a very
interesting character, her obsession with social status along with her
ungrateful and spiteful remarks make her deeply unlikable, but at the same time
remarkably watchable. This is in part due to Blanchet’s astounding performance,
which is likely to see her nominated for an Oscar. As her world crumbles, her
attention turns to her sister Ginger, who struggles with her relationship as
well as being the underdog of the family. Sally Hawkins once again proves she
has undeniable talent as Ginger, displaying her character’s warm and loving
personality flawlessly, as well as adding her staple quirk to the film. The
narrative is carried by the beautiful cinematography, which should be praised
for its easy on the eye blend of warm, rich colours with stark realism, similar
to Allen’s 2011 Midnight in Paris. As Jasmine’s caring side begins to emerge,
we see a different side to the character, providing some welcome relief that
she is not completely cold and uncaring. By the end of the film Jasmine has
displayed a rebirth; her upper class life has been destroyed, along with her
lack of compassion, and is replaced with a wonderfully likable character,
despite her continued glares of disapproval and eye rolling narcissism. The
underlying issue of the loss of one’s identity and the mental problems
associated with it, along with Cate Blanchette’s astounding performance as the
troubled Jasmine makes it an instant Woody Allen classic.
9/10
