In the grand oeuvre of Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine is an aberration. Sure, it contains another ensemble cast. Sure, the narrative comes full circle.

And sure, it contains copious amounts of jazz. Hell, it even stars a stunning Hollywood A-Lister – Cate Blanchett – who casually rolls out yet another Oscar-tipped performance.

Nonetheless, it is still an anomaly, albeit a flawed one.

Jeanette “Jasmine” Francis (Cate Blanchett) loses her wealth, her social status and her mind when wealthy businessman husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) is convicted of fraud and then commits suicide.

 

 

Jasmine – who is not worlds apart from Tennesee Williams’ Blanche DuBois – decides to begin a new life with her sweet but naive sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) and her fiancé, Chili (Bobby Cannavale) in San Francisco. Things get better. Then things get worse.

Blanchett is Blue Jasmine: if not for her monumental performance, the entire drama would crumble into tiny pieces and be forgotten forever.

If you look closely, you may spot flashes of Blanchett’s previous genius: namely the ignorance of Meredith Logue in Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley or the exuberance of Katharine Hepburn in Scorsese’s The Aviator.

I do not see her role as being a particularly complex one – she essentially plays a mad woman – however, it is one she pulls off with great gusto. Vivien Leigh would be proud.

 

In other areas, the movie is not so impressive. Allen incongruously cuts back and forth, between past and present, relaying his story in the clumsiest possible fashion.

If he was trying to reflect Jasmine’s erratic nature, he could have done so a little more delicately. Similarly, the use of Steadicam feels misplaced and unnecessary: the excessive movement of the camera feels superfluous during already heated scenes where the use of static camera would have been more understated and subtle.

Sally Hawkins is typecast – yet again! – as the working class heroine. Snore….

Above all, Blue Jasmine is a serious picture and this is why it is so problematic.

Some may say it is a welcome departure from the stale rom-coms Allen usually directs, however one does leave the cinema wishing the director would stick to his celebrated comedies.

The truth is, there is little in this story to empathise with: we don’t care much for the spoilt lead, her criminal husband or the gullible Ginger. The acting may be top-notch but no amount of skillful performance can save a bland script.

Disappointingly different. Don’t bother.

---

Stars - ★★

Reviewed by Rehan Mudannayake

 

Blue Jasmine (2013)

Comedy | Drama

Plot: A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks a million, but isn't bringing money, peace, or love...
 

Director: Woody Allen

Writer: Woody Allen

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard