Dear Swingers,
I thought I’d recommend Woody Allen’s new film Blue Jasmine to you. I should caution you from the outset that this is NOT a happy film. It does not feature Woody Allen wise-cracking in the style of Annie Hall or Sleeper. Blue Jasmin is much more in the vein of Crimes & Misdemeanors or Hannah And Her Sisters. Kate Blanchett plays Jasmine (who is in meltdown after her family has disintegrated and her old life of luxury and privilege has evapourated.) Starring with Blanchett is Sally Hawkins (a Brit) who plays Jasmine’s working-class sister Ginger. As Jasmine moves in with her sister and events play out, we see (with the aid of flashbacks too) that Ginger’s efforts to help Jasmine are doomed.
It’s sounds terribly depressing doesn’t it? Well, now for the good part. The film is full of subtle humour, comic vignettes and Woody Allen’s insights into the human condition. Jasmine and Ginger are both acted brilliantly (as are the other characters: – remember Alec Baldwin as the ruthless and amoral Colonel Kudrow in Mercury Rising? and do look out for the hilarious dentist, and Ginger’s boyfriends and ex-husband too). I am a big fan of Brit director Mike Leigh’s films, and I think Sally Hawkins (who starred in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky) brings a little of the same flavour to this film. I suppose one test of a film’s success is whether is gets you thinking about it afterwards and comparing it with other powerful films you’ve seen. This one made me think about Mike Leigh’s ‘Another Year’ (with Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, and Lesley Manville). If you know and loved that, then you’ll certainly like and appreciate this too.
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