Jasmine French

I have never been interested in any Woody Allen films in the past, but over the course of the past year or so, I have gradually become interested in his films and I'm glad because he is actually a film genius, as evident from this film, Blue Jasmine. Blue Jasmine offers a roller-coaster ride of emotions from light comedy to downright depressing. Woody offers up his distinct style of dialog in his screenplay and it's put to good use by Cate Blanchett who delivers one of her best career performances.

Woody Allen's film is about a woman named Jasmine who was quite a rich socialite in Manhattan married to a wealthy businessman named Hal. When Hal is arrested for swindling, Jasmine loses her home and wealth and is forced to move to San Francisco to move in with her sister, Ginger. From there, we see the emotions Jasmine goes through as she is having a hard time moving on.

As said before, Cate Blanchett may have given her best performance and that is a tough feat. Her emotion is so raw and her pain is so real and even though I don't care for people with her kind of snobby attitude, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. Alec Baldwin does a good job as Hal, the man with the money and the affairs. Sally Hawkins delivers quite a performance as Ginger, who is suffering from problems of her own. Finally, Bobby Cannavale does a great job as Ginger's boyfriend who makes it clear his distrust for Jasmine.

Overall, Blue Jasmine is an excellent film but I'm not sure if being labeled as a comedy would work in its favor. The movie is just too depressing at times. I was also reminded of the Bernie Madoff scandal here and Jasmine seems to deliver the emotions Madoff's wife must have gone through. This is a well-acted and well-written film that touches upon the subject of life-altering changes and their effects. I rate this film 9/10.

"Who do you have to sleep with around here to get a Stoli martini with a twist of lemon?"

Woody Allen has returned to the States for this film after experiencing some extended vacations over Europe (To Rome with Love, Midnight in Paris, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and this time the story takes place mostly in San Francisco, although we do get several interesting flashbacks in New York (Allen's favorite filming location). I mention these locations because in most of his films these cities are actual characters and sometimes even main ones. There were two general criticisms I had read about Blue Jasmine before watching it, one was that this was Woody Allen's return to form and the second was that Cate Blanchett's performance was magnificent. I agree with the second statement because Blanchett delivers one of the best performances of the year and she is the main reason why this film actually worked for me. As for the second statement I have to differ because I thought Midnight in Paris was his best recent film and I enjoyed it much more than Blue Jasmine. I do have to say that Woody Allen's capacity for writing and directing these films in such a short period of time (he's directed one every year for the past decades) impresses me. He has a unique voice in all of his films that sometimes make me picture him talking through each one of his characters. I remember something similar happening to me during college when I would be reading over my notes as I studied for a final exam actually listening to my professors unique voice in my head as I read. This is what happens to me often during a Woody Allen film as I imagine his head popping over one of his characters. It happened during this film as well, except for Blanchett's character who managed to bring her unique style which took a voice of its own. She deserves all the accolades she's been receiving from her peers and critics alike. It was a wonderful performance and an affecting one as well.

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) was a New York socialite who lived a happy and blessed life with her husband Hal (Alec Baldwin), until he was sent to prison for fraudulent business acts. We get to discover some darker secrets about their past as the story unravels through flashbacks, but the film opens at the present as Jasmine is returning to San Francisco to live with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) and her two sons, completely broke. She has experienced several mental breakdowns due to her traumatic past, and despite being estranged from her sister during that time, Ginger takes her in. Jasmine imposes on Ginger who wasn't as blessed as she was and is working at a grocery store while dating Chili (Bobby Canavale). Jasmine and Chili don't get along too well as she has interfered in his plans to move in with Ginger. Jasmine is always telling her that she should find someone better like she did (which wasn't really the case) and that is the reason for the constant friction between them. In San Francisco, Jasmine meets another wealthy man named Dwight (Peter Saarsgard) who she begins dating, and which gives her hope that she will recover her past glory, but her constant lies begin catching up with her affecting her relationship with him and her sister.

I wouldn't say this is a character driven story because I felt a lot of them were one dimensional characters, with the exception of Jasmine of course. The people in Woody Allen's films don't tend to feel real or authentic at times, and they usually are just cartoonish caricatures from a bubbled world. Allen's films aren't the laugh out loud type either, I find them funny in a rather witty way. He is slick at times and the scenes put a smile on your face, but they don't have you laughing hysterically. Blanchett does manage to portray Jasmine in a more authentic and believable way, showing her flaws and inner struggles with her mental illness. It's a character that we find hard to sympathize with, but also feel sorry for as her life begins falling apart. She's the type of person who cannot be on her own and is always depending on someone. I also liked the way in which Woody Allen told the story and let the past unravel smoothly through flashbacks revealing several things about her character. This along with Blanchett's performance is what saves the movie and makes it entertaining, but I wouldn't agree with the critics who are saying this is Allen's best work in years. I do agree it is perhaps his most tragic and darkest comedy in recent years.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Woody Allen's finely tuned screen-writing skills and his talent for eliciting standout and often award-winning performances from his leading ladies are on full display in "Blue Jasmine." Alec Baldwin, the slick husband of a middle-aged socialite, Cate Blanchett, pulls a Bernie-Madoff swindle and ends up in jail. The homes, the cars, the furs, the jewels, the furniture all go to the Feds, and the penniless Cate flies first class to San Francisco with her Louis Vuitton luggage to stay with her non-biological sister, Sally Hawkins, until she gets back on her feet. Blanchett, the Jasmine of the title, is totally unprepared for her economic fall. She decides to become an interior designer, but wants to study on-line; however, she is computer illiterate and must take a course, before she can begin to study decorating; but, she needs money for the courses and takes a receptionist job with a lecherous dentist. Although the film addresses serious issues, the Allen humor will provoke smiles and an occasional chuckle, from small well-observed moments such as the attempts of indecisive patients to make dental appointments.

Understandably, Cate Blanchett's Jasmine teeters on the edge of a nervous breakdown; she lies instinctively, even to herself; and she cannot or will not face the reality of her downward mobility. The role is an actress's showcase, and Blanchett is in top form; her nervous rambling monologues, either to herself or to unwilling strangers, provide a study guide for aspiring actors. Jasmine brays at her "sister," Ginger, effortlessly and engagingly played by Hawkins; she nags about Ginger's job, lover, and living quarters, until Ginger points out Jasmine's own diminished situation. Jasmine bellows that Ginger can do better than her amorous boyfriend, Chili, a charismatic Bobby Cannavale with a bad haircut and faded tattoo; eventually, Ginger reminds her that her own choice of husband was less than stellar. Jasmine, Ginger, and Chili make an aromatic trio, whose names perhaps allude to their personalities, and they are ably supported by Louis C.K., a horny guy with the hots for Ginger, and Peter Sarsgaard, a respectable diplomat seeking a suitable wife for his political career.

In keeping with the film's title, Woody uses blues on the soundtrack, and his cinematographer, Javier Aguirresrobe, lenses the dual New York and San Francisco locales effectively. Although the jump cuts in time are jarring initially, viewers will quickly accommodate to New York being the past and San Francisco the present. Woody at age 78 is a master writer, especially of women's characters, and "Blue Jasmine" finds him at his best. Although Woody's trademark humor flickers throughout, the film is essentially about a vulnerable woman standing amidst the ruins of her former life and facing a precariously uncertain future. Audiences may come out praising the performers, but humming the blues.

when the movie was over the audience sat there somewhat stunned and completely silent... was crazy... crazy is the literal word to use.

the main character is so vivid and sad and real.

the film is a roller coaster ride of drama and comedy... of awkward humor and goofy then disturbing.

the use of flashbacks are done seamlessly and works well to tell the back story of this amazing character.

there are a few things that maybe don't work here and there but 80 percent of this film is cate blanchette and she really is perfect.

at times it's woodyy allen-ish and at other times you forget and are sucked in by blanchette.

rest of cast is great... andrew dice clay is awesome in a very toned down role, louie ck is great is a small part... sally hawkins is awesome in her own way and very different from her sister jasmine... bobby carnivale chews some scenery.

if this movie sucks you in you will have a hard time forgetting it for a while... it hangs with you.

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 45th directorial effort, a sly, bicoastal update of Tennessee Williams' classic "A Streetcar Named Desire". As the film 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 film 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") camera-work complies nicely. The San Francisco locations bring a nice geographic change to Allen's storytelling, and he only uses the Golden Gate Bridge in a long shot once from the Marin side. This is Allen's best work in quite a while, and Blanchett is the ideal muse for his tale.