Review - Blue Jasmine

 Blue Jasmine is all about Cate Blanchett.

Here is a film with a character so narcissist, snobbish and self-centered -  and yet you feel for the character. You care for Blanchett's Jasmine, not because the character is written in such a way. In fact, the character is wretched, a complete disaster. But you care. You care because there is something usual about Cate's portrayal. Her eyes, her face, her expressions - are just unforgettable. This is a great piece of acting.

Woody's first US based production after many years, Blue Jasmine is about a high fashion, ultra-rich Manhattan socialite - she is all that not because of herself - she is not even a graduate, but because of her husband Hal (Alec Baldwin, in a very apt casting). "He swept me off the feet" says Jasmine, not once but many times, after the things turn dreadfully wrong. Hal goes to jail in a Bernie Madoff-way, all the money, goods and property are taken by the State; and Jasmine is all left alone to face reallity. - She doesn't even have enough money to pay rent for the apartment.

So she moves to her sister's apartment in San Francisco.  Ginger (amazing Sally Hawkings, very natural) is a working class and hasn't heard from her rich sister in years. What follows is a sequence of comic situations in a very dark way and a detailed character study of our herione, Jasmine.

Writing his best, even at 80's, Woody Allen has a gift for quirky narrative. It is amazing the way he crafts his script, altering between dark comedy and neurotic drama. And also, the way he lets her lead to shine - Blanchett has apparently the best film ever which a heroine can dream of. It is a film which allows Blanchett to throw all her emotions. She is angry, frustrated, flirtatious, happy, jealous, amazed and finally, mad - all this in just an hour and a half of runtime. In any other hands, the character would have turned into a caricature. But Blanchett plays it with such a vulnerability and conviction that she turns Jasmine into a full flesh and bone character. She is the actor of the year undoubtedly.

Blue Jasmine is an amazing film. It shows how a great artist like Woody Allen never loses his luster and command in his craftmanship. And it shows how a great actress like Cate Blanchett can turn a repellent character into a empathetic one.

Jasmine doesn't plays in Indian cinemas, but you should definitely catch it on home video.

4/5