My Blueberry Nights

In one word: predictable. I'm sorry, I really did want to like this. After all, the Chinese Director - Wong Kar Wai – is famous in the world of independent World Cinema and this has been his long awaited first English language film. And of course the cast is both extremely beautiful and undeniably talented – just not at working opposite each other.

It has to be said: when Jude Law is good he's mind blowing, but when he's bad he's unwatchable. Unfortunately these days, more often then not, I cringe when he comes on the screen. It's such a shame, especially as he's so nice to look at, but rather then growing as an actor he seems to be becoming a caricature of himself. I mean, his character Jeremy is supposed to be a Mancuniann in New York – but he can't even pull that off believably! I was curious to see what Norah Jones would be like on the big screen. My verdict: stick to the singing. The first half an hour was painfully forced and not helped by Law's dry performance. It did get marginally better as Elizabeth (Jones' character) leaves Jeremy's blueberry pies behind and goes on a self-discovering journey across America, though this might be more due to a wonderful performance by her co-stars.

David Strathairn especially deserves recognition. His portrayal of alcoholic cop Arnie is superb. Unable to accept that his marriage to Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz) is over, he befriends Elizabeth when she takes on two waitressing jobs in his local bar and dinner. An argument with devastating results ensues, and we see Weisz at her best – ruthless and sexy yet vulnerable. Natalie Portman's performance as a crazy gambling addict is equally great, although her acting opposite Jones never felt comfortable.

Finally, Wai is renowned for his creative cinematography, and at least in that respect My Bluberry Nights didn't disappoint. Maybe if you watched this with the volume set on mute you'd see this as the masterpiece it's trying to be. But while tension can enhance a film, I felt like this was just full of confusion. Artistic indie flick or traditional Hollywood blockbuster? Well, neither really, just a lot of unnerving insecurity.

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Wong Kar Wai's English-language debut is a home run, thanks to his superior craft and thanks to the remarkable group of individuals he has brought together, from his star-studded cast to Ry Cooder on lead guitar and Darius Khondji as director of photography. Khondji is the lonesome lens man who made Pollack, Allen, Fincher, Boyle, Polanski, and Bertolucci look so fine, and he is at the top of his game as he makes Wong Kar Wai's trademark layered look shine like never before. Singer-songwriter Norah Jones' acting debut is impressive, as is Rachel Weisz' performance in the part of the Southern Belle, keeping the dialect coaches busy. Natalie Portman, cast against type, may be the prettiest face in Hollywood, but she tries very hard and, predictably, fails to come across as a trashy gambler. She even slips out of her fake accent twice: Once when she wakes up in bed with Norah Jones (understandable) and again when they split ("You're hopeless"). Similarly, Jude Law is unconvincing in the part of the philosophical bartender. I know everybody loves him, but I just don't see what they see. My money is on David Strathairn and his touching portrayal of Arnie, the quiet drunk. I wish they had kept his tab open a little longer and cut the lame Las Vegas leg of the script.

A Hollywood production for a film director that delivered remarkable love stories with his past works. This is just to leverage on that to make money.

Some slow motion scenes (successfully adopted in In the mood for love and 2046) are re-proposed here as a sterile attempt to impress or give character to the stream. It just does not work.

The film is empty there is nothing behind, the facts are boring and the acting is mediocre.Norah Jones is a remarkable singer but cannot play as an actress, I think it was quite a mistake to have her as main character.

This is the evidence of how money can spoil the workflow of an artist.

The film is all about mood. If you are not in it, you will not like the movie. My recommendation is to watch it at night, in bed, with no worries on your mind or things to do. It is not something really great, but it soothes the soul like one of those old road books.

The story itself is more of a three parter, each section detailing a mindset and the situations that define it. You see the hopeless romantic, the one person who let the other inside instead of just sticking to the outside, and for whom losing the other is worst than death; then there is the rebellious daughter that loves and hates her father until it's to late to do anything either way; and of course, the story of Nora Joneses and Jude Law's characters.

Bottom line: lay comfy in your bed and listen to the slow rhythms of the music while digesting the human nature presented in the film. In the end it is worth watching.

This was a smart sweet movie. Very nicely done with some beautiful scenes! Majestic pictures really. And it had a nice story and some good characters with great performances specially by Rachel Weisz and Strathairn! It had good witty dialogs and had some funny moments. It's one of those movies that has everything to be good. Never Amazing, never something out of this world, but good! Makes you feel good after wards! But because of the editing and the great shots, this movie could have been far better than the average sweet smart movie.

The main reason why it's just good is because of the lead actress which was Norah Jones. And I'm very sorry to say she didn't convince me at all. It even became annoying at some points! And since she is narrating some bits and appearing in most of the movie.. it kinda ruined it a bit for me. It's really hard to comprehend why she was given the part. But if you can forget about her acting.. I think the movie is really good.