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If you want to see this year's master class in screen acting, you need to watch Cate Blanchett's mesmerizing performance as Jasmine French, a delusional Park Avenue socialite wife in Woody Allen's 46th directorial effort, a sly, bicoastal update of Tennessee Williams' classic A Streetcar Named Desire. As the movie opens, her impeccably dressed character has hit rock bottom after her financial wizard of a husband is arrested and her assets are liquidated. In the throes of a nervous breakdown, she arrives in San Francisco and moves in with her kind-hearted sister Ginger who lives a modest, blue-collar life in a tiny apartment on the edge of the Mission - on South Van Ness near 14th Street to be exact - with her two hyperactive sons. You can tell Jasmine is not only out of her element but quite judgmental about how her sister's life has turned out. The irony of Jasmine's patronizing attitude is that she is a habitual liar who is so angry about her destitute circumstances that she frequently talks to herself. The story follows the basic outline of "Streetcar" but takes some interesting turns, for instance, when she tries to better herself by taking computer classes while working as a receptionist at a dental office. Allen has crafted his movie into a clever juxtaposition of current and past events that feels jarring at first since it reflects Jasmine's precarious mental state but then melds into a dramatic arc which resonates far more than a straightforward chronology could have allowed. As a writer, he has become more vociferous in his dialogue without losing his wit. He doesn't pull punches when he showcases confrontations between his characters, whether it's between the two sisters, men and women, or people from different classes. Hostility can come in flammable torrents or in thinly veiled remarks. That Allen moves so dexterously in tone is a testament to his sharp ability in drawing out the truth in his actors. Blanchett is a wonder in this regard because there is something intensely fearless in her approach. Unafraid to lose audience sympathy for her character, she finds an innate sadness in Jasmine that makes us want to know what happens to her next. She also mines the sharp, class-based humor in Jasmine's struggles with one highlight a hilariously executed scene in a pizza restaurant where she explains to her confused nephews to "Tip big, boys". The rest of the cast manage effective turns. Alec Baldwin plays Jasmine's swindler husband with almost effortless aplomb. Sally Hawkins brings a wonderful looseness to Ginger, Stella to Blanchett's Blanche, and finds a level of poignancy in her character's constant victimization at the hands of her sister as well as her brutish, blue-collar boyfriend Chili, played with comic fierceness by Bobby Cannavale in the Stanley Kowalski role. In a conveniently conceived role, Peter Sarsgaard gets uncharacteristically breezy as Dwight, a wealthy, erudite, and matrimonially available State Department diplomat who appears to be the answer to Jasmine's prayers, while Allen casts two unlikely comics in about-face roles - Andrew Dice Clay as Ginger's defeated ex-husband Augie and Louis C.K. as Al, an amorous suitor who brings Ginger a few moments of romantic salvation. Allen's European sojourn appears to have freed him up with the movement of characters in scenes and Javier Aguirresarobe's (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) camerawork complies nicely. This is Allen's best work in quite a while.Read full review
Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is a socialite who has fallen on hard times due to her husband financial crimes. She moves to San Francisco to live with her blue-collar sister. Jasmine is in a constant state of self-medicating and having a mental breakdown. She cannot function in her sister Ginger's (Sally Hawkins) world. Jasmine had the good genes and was mom's favorite, yet for me Ginger was the real hero as I never developed any empathy for our title character. Allen works the juxtaposition to the max using flashbacks (not chronological) to compare Jasmine's current state to that of her past and to the life of her sister Ginger. I am a fan of Woody Allen, as I loved "Midnight in Paris," but I kept waiting for Allen’s ingenuity to hit me. Was it in the lyrics of the song "Blue Moon" which reflected Jasmine's life? Was it the juxtapositions? Was it the similarity to "Streetcar Named Desire?" When I look at this film and say, "Only Woody Allen could have done this?" it just wasn't there. Cate Blanchett does give a great performance and makes the film worth viewing. I am glad I got it at a very cheap price.Read full review
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Originally I did not have any desire to buy this movie, when it went on sale I picked it up. Was I ever glad that I did. Written and directed by Woody Allen, it stars one of my favorite actors, Cate Blanchett. Her acting is superb and extends beyond the screen to capture the audience in her downward mental spiral. One of Woody's best. Don't miss it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
a quirky romp into have an have not world of everyday people and not so everyday people.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Really good story and characters throughout the film.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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